The Princess and the Safe Kid
by PFTones3482
Summary: A series of one shots that are posted on my Tumblr account or that I come up with in various situations. Feel free to leave me requests if you want! Some chapters definitely will contain Starco. Complete unless I decide otherwise because of a lack of inspiration and support.
1. The Blue Hoodie

**THE BLUE HOODIE**

 **So I originally posted this on my Tumblr and then decided "Huh. Might as well put all of my Tumblr originated stories on here."**

 **NOW behold, in no particular order, my randomly updated Fanfiction for my stories about SVTFOE that are written on Tumblr!**

 **I don't own Star vs. the Forces of Evil**

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GENERAL POV

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Marco stuck his head out of his bedroom door, narrrowing his eyes and surveying the hallway to ensure that no one was there.

He swung his door closed and rapidly locked it, revelling in the soft click that sounded below the knob. Dropping to his knees, Marco checked under the bed, dove to his trunk and glanced inside, then somersaulted to his window and peeked outside. He slammed the panes shut, drew the curtains, and darted to his closet.

Marco shoved aside the dozen red hoodies that hung from their hangers, digging deep into the back of the tiny room. From under his shirt he drew a key on a cord and pulled it off his neck.

The key fit snuggly into the lock that Marco had on the safe tucked into the back of his closet, and he turned the key ever so slightly, grinning when the tumbling sound inside the lock reached his ears.

Putting the cord back around his neck, Marco swung the safe door open and reached inside, pulling out a smaller safe, this one with a combination lock. He spun the dial, hitting the number 13 three times, and clicked the door open.

"Finally," he whispered, his voice wavering as he smiled. "Finally we can be alone, and no one has to know about you."

From inside the safe he pulled out the softest, most comfortable hoodie he had ever purchased and pressed it to his cheek, looking back nervously at the red hoodies hanging above him.

He turned back to the hoodie in his hands, a smile lingering on his lips as he traced a finger over the gentle bright blue fabric.

"No one needs to know," he murmured again, tucking the hoodie back into the safe. "No one needs to know that blue is my favorite."

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 **The ones on my Tumblr are all relatively short (My name on there is the same as on here, btw)**

 **If you guys want, you can send me prompts. The title has literally nothing to do with anything, I just thought it was cute.**

 **Reviews are great!**


	2. The Beach

**Heyo here is my second short one shot that I have posted on my Tumblr account, in which Star and Marco go to the beach.**

 **Crystal Persian: You know that I'm always up for new ideas!**

 **I don't own Star vs. the Forces of Evil.**

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GENERAL POV

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"Come on, come on, come ON Marco!" Star Butterfly cried in excitement, bouncing up and down on her toes and clapping her hands together. "Stop with the sunblock already, the ocean is waiting for us!"

To prove her point, Star threw a hand behind her and gestured to the glittering sea around them, the sun shining brightly and causing the water to sparkle like a million diamonds.

Marco grinned and shut the tube of sunblock in his hand (SPF 85, to be precise). "It's not like the ocean is going anywhere, Star," he pointed out, getting to his feet and brushing the sand from his swim trunks.

Star grabbed his arm and started tugging. "Yeah, but the time is! Come on, your parents are already in the water!"

Marco peered behind her and shuddered. "I know. I wish my dad had decided NOT to pack the speedo."

Both teens grimaced and Marco peeled off his flip flops, setting them down with his T-shirt and shorts. He glanced over at Star, who was pulling off her sundress to reveal her bathing suit. It was a rather simple two piece, decorated in-what else?- stars, hearts, and butterflies.

Marco felt his cheeks flush and he glanced towards the water quickly. "Ready?"he asked her, adjusting the draw string on his maroon shorts.

Star flew past him, her feet barely hitting the sand, and splashed quickly into the water. She yelped at the sudden cold and dove under, leaving Marco to shake his head and wade in up to his knees.

The boy stood still for minute and scanned the water closely, trying to spot Star under the crashing waves. "Star?" he called after a moment, somewhat concerned.

Cold fingers wrapped around his ankle and Marco screamed as he was yanked under the water. He came up spluttering and drenched next to Star, who waas giggling uncontrollably. "You should have seen your face," she teased him.

Marco scowled playfully. "Eh, yours is funnier."

Star looked sideways at him in confusion, only to find herself dunked underwater before she could ask what he meant.

The two spent nearly an hour chasing and dunking each other and staying as far away as possible from Mr. Diaz (who refused to believe that he should change into regular swim trunks).

When the teenagers finally fumbled their way out of the water, laughing and slightly pink despite the application of sunblock, Marco's parents had gone to the nearby boardwalk to grab some lunch.

Marco began toweling off his hair and glanced over at Star, who was trying to wring some of the sand from her hair.

"They have showers over there," Marco said, pointing to the restrooms and trying not to focus on just how pretty Star was. "You know, if you want to wash the sand off."

Star grinned at him and darted away, jogging up to the showers and pressing the button that would turn on the water. The girl yelped a little as the freezing water hit her, but she quickly pushed through the sensation and began running her fingers through her hair, drawing the sand from the bright yellow locks.

Giggling came from Star's left side and she glanced over to see a group of teenage girls, probably her age, laughing and pointing at Star and snickering. Star frowned hesitantly and tried to ignore them, focusing on getting a knot out of her hair.

"Hey! Don't you think you should put on something more decent?" one of the girls called to her.

Star furrowed her eyebrows and swung her dripping wet hair back over her shoulder. "I thought this was appropriate," she said, tugging on the strap of her bikini. "We are at the beach, after all."

One of the other girls, a red hed, snorted. "Oh honey. No, no, no. You don't have the body for that bathing suit."

Star blinked and twirled a strand of hair between her fingers. "I...I don't?" she asked in confusion.

The redhead rolled her eyes. "You're much too fat for that swimsuit, dear, and you-"

"What did you just say?"

The group of girls turned around to find Marco standing behind them, his eyebrows narrowed and his arms crossed over his chest.

The redhead smiled sweetly. "Just telling her the facts, sweetie. You can do MUCH better than this pudgy blimp over here."

Star leapt forward and grabbed Marco's fist from midair just before he could sock the girl in the nose. "Marco," she pleaded. "Don't."

Marco looked her in the eyes and softened under her gze, letting his hand fall. He wrapped an arm around Star and guided her away from the girls, sending them a very evil glare over his shoulder. "Star, they're wrong. You're not fat, I swear."

Star squirmed under his gaze and tightened her arms around her stomach. "Can we find your parents?" she asked softly. "I want to go home."

Marco stopped in surprise. "What? Star, you love the beach! Don't let those jerks get to you. You're gorgeous."

Star glanced at him and Marco turned bright red. "Uh...well...I mean...you know..."

The girl gave him thin smile. "Thanks, Marco. But my sundress is soaked and sandy aand I don't really feel comfortable in this swimsuit anymore."

Marco hesitated and then reached into his bag, which Star hadn't even seen him carrying. He pulled out his T-shirt that he usually wore, soft and gray and totally clean. "Here," he said softly, handing it over. "I don't need it."

Star took the shirt slowly aand glanced at Marco. "Really?" she asked, her eyes lighting up with delight.

He smiled and the girl tugged the fabric over her head, letting the cloth fall around her shoulders. It hung just down to her thighs and Marco couldn't help but smile at the sight. Star pulled him into a hug and giggled. "Thanks, Marco. Lunch?"

Marco grinned and pulled away from the hug, grabbing her hand and squeezing it tightly. "Lunch," he agreed.

And despite the fact that he wound up with a sunburn covering his entire torso, he didn't regret a thing.

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 **Woop. There be the second chapter.**

 **Reviews are great!**


	3. Fire

**Tiny drabble inspired by music.**

 **Imaginativegoody2shoes: Haha I just like telling stories.**

 **Elemental-756: I don't think he would either, but when Star is the one being insulted...?**

 **Crystal Persian: Omg I really like that. My question is, would you rather it be in here or a seperate story? I'm fine with either.**

 **I don't own Star vs. the Forces of Evil.**

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GENERAL POV

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Marco sniffed the air and stuck his head out of his room, looking down the hallway in horror to see smoke billowing out from under Star's door.

"Star!" he yelped, grabbing the fire extinguisher from behind his desk and sprinting down the hall.

He kicked open the door and began spraying wildly around the room, only stopping when the extinguisher ran out of foam.

Tiny fires flickered around the room and a small raincloud floated in the middle of it all, Star standing there with her wand raised and foam flecking her outfit while water spilled to the floor.

"Star! What the heck happened in here?" Marco demanded.

Star pouted. "I was trying to set this rain from the cloud on fire."

Marco stared at her in utter bewilderment. "WHY?"

"Adele did it!"

"…oh Star."

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 **Just a short, cute drabble.**

 **Reviews?**


	4. Handshakes

**Handshakes**

 **So this one came about after I watched the episode with the foreign exchange student, Gustav.**

 **Crystal Persian: I'll definitely get to work on that.**

 **I don't own Star vs. the Forces of Evil.**

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GENERAL POV

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Star chewed on the end of her wand thoughtfully, staring at Marco across the table as he munched on his cereal.

Marco glanced up with the spoon halfway to his mouth and raised an eyebrow at the princess. "Star? You okay?"

The girl pursed her lips and set the wand down on the table, twirling a strand of blonde hair around her pointer finger. "I just had a question."

Marco smiled gently and set the spoon back into his bowl, leaning forward on his elbows. "Shoot."

Having learned that shoot did not, in fact, mean to shoot various objects around the room, Star kept her fingers away from the wand and creased her eyebrows. "The other day, when Gustav was here…when he first came in you guys did this weird jumpy hand thing. What was it?"

Marco chuckled and leaned back in his seat. "That? It's called a handshake. Well…kind of. It's a different kind of handshake, that close friends sometimes do with each other."

Star frowned, about to ask another question, when Marco happened to glance at the clock. "Oh, shoot! Come on, Star, we're gonna be late!"

Star hesitated, but pushed her chair back and followed him to school.

* * *

"Hey Marco!" Star shouted, bouncing up next to the boy in the hallway.

Marco looked up from a text message and grinned. "Hey Star. What's up?"

The girl tilted her head and held out a hand. Marco looked at her funny, and then glanced down the hall and spotted Ferguson. "Ferguson! My man, gimme some!"

Stars jaw dropped as the two boys did a complicated series of hand movements, some knee slapping, and a chest bump.

Ferguson paused, panting and putting his hands on his knees. "I'm just gonna…I'm just gonna go," he said, gesturing weakly towards the science wing.

Marco slapped his shoulder and sent him on his way, turning back to Star to find her staring at him open mouthed. "What?" he asked in confusion.

Star shook her head. "Why-?"

The bell rang and Marco gave her an apologetic smile. "Gotta go Star, don't wanna be late to English!"

He gave her a wave and darted off, leaving Star to stand in the hallway with a sad look on her face.

* * *

Marco stepped into the house and slung his backpack onto the couch, walking into the kitchen to find his mom kneading bread dough. "Hey Mom. Have you seen Star? She wasn't on the bus."

Mrs. Diaz raised an eyebrow. "She got home about five minutes ago. She seemed a little off. Did something happen at school?"

Marco frowned. "I…I don't think so. I'll go talk to her. Help you with dinner later?" he offered.

"His mother smiled and kissed his cheek. "You always do."

* * *

Marco leaned against Star's doorjamb and rapped his knuckles against the open door. "Star? You in here?"

A hand appeared on the second floor landing of Star's room and Marco started for the stairs. "Can I come up?"

There was no answer, and Marco furrowed his eyebrows, climbing the stairs quickly. "Star, are you okay?" he asked, popping his head over the landing and leaning his elbows on the floor.

Star glanced up from where she was flopped on the floor, her chin buried in her arms. "I guess," she murmured.

Marco frowned and ascended the steps completely, walking over to Star and sinking down next to her. "Star? What's wrong?"

Star huffed and sat up, glaring at the floor. "Marco, you said that really good friends have special handshakes, right?"

Marco tilted his head and leaned forward on his knees. "Well, yeah I did but-"

"Then why don't WE have one?" the girl yelped, sitting up and looking at him anxiously, her lower lip trembling. "I thought we were really awesome friends!"

Marco froze, a lump forming in his throat as he realized how scared Star looked. "Star-" he started softly.

The princess shook her head, looking away. "Never mind. I guess I just thought we were good friends."

Marco chuckled softly and scooted over to Star, wrapping a tender arm around her. "Star. You're my best friend. We don't need a dumb handshake to prove that."

Star looked up warily, brushing at her eyes. "But you said-"

Marco held up a hand. "Handshakes are just…a weird way to say hi. They don't really mean anything, and they don't define who we're friends with. Star, if you really want us to have a handshake, we can make one up, but we don't need that for me to say I care about you."

Star's face brightened immediately and she threw her arms around Marco tightly, burying her face in the crook of his neck. "Can hugs be our handshake?" she mumbled into his shoulder.

Marco smiled and tightened his grip on her. "Of course they can."

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 **Awwwwww such cuteness. Anywho.**

 **Review?**


	5. Sleep Talking

**Sleep Talking**

 **Okay, so I was going to post this as a stand alone story, but it was too short. Sorry, Crystal Persian!**

 **I am so happy with the response that last chapter got, so let me respond to reviews:**

 **I are unicorn: I'm really glad you enjoyed!**

 **TheSakuraHunter: I am always up for more ideas!**

 **AnimalKrazed: Sorry for your dental issues lol, thats my bad.**

 **I don't own Star vs. the Forces of Evil. This takes place after the monster arm episode.**

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GENERAL POV

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"So you're sure we won't have to worry about the monster arm coming back again?" Marco asked Star as they walked home from the karate tournament, Marco cradling his broken arm in his good hand.

Star blinked wearily and rubbed an eye. "I uh...I don't think so...but just..."

Before she could finish her train of thought, the girl swayed and her knees buckled, dead weight pulling her to the ground. Marco dove for his friend and caught her just before she hit the concrete, nearly blacking out with pain himself as his bad arm strained to hold her up.

"Crap...Star? Star are you okay?" Marco grunted, slowly lowering her to the ground and biting back tears as his arm flared in anguish.

The girl murmured softly and curled up on the warm pavement, resting her head on Marco's knee.

He nearly slapped himself. "Of course. You've been up for two days straight trying to fix my arm."

Marco froze and brought a hand to his forehed, wincing. "And I was a total jerk, yelling at you and not listening to you. Uggh, this is all my fault."

Gritting his teeth, Marco managed to sling the girl over his shoulder and hoist himself to his feet, wishing that Ferguson and Alfonso had decided to come home with them. Luckily, he was only about a block from his house, so he pushed forwards, managing to kick open the door to his house and thump up the stairs with mild difficulty.

He finally stumbled into Star's room and deposited the girl on her bed, crumpling to the floor as soon as the girl was safe. Tears streaming down his cheeks, Marco shrugged off the top of his karate uniform, leaving him in an undershirt, and used it to form a makeshift sling until his parents could get home and take him back to the hospital.

"Marco...sorry...mmm...couldn't fix..."

The teen looked up in confusion, wiping away the salty tears from his face and tilting his head at his friend. Was she sleep talking?

"Really bad...magic...hrmmf."

Marco's gaze softened and his pulled himself to his feet carefully, sitting on the edge of Star's bed and pulling up a blanket to cover her. "Gosh, Star," he mumbled, tucking the blanket around her with his free hand. "Trust me, it wasn't your fault. I'm just a major dipwad."

A faint smile curved up the girl's lips and Marco smiled in amusement. "Just sleep. I'll see you in the morning."

Star cracked an eye open, startling Marco to no end. "Thanks, Marco," she mumbled softly. "Mm sorry I couldn't fix your arm sooner."

Marco chuckled and leaned over, brushing Star's hair from her face. "Trust me, Miss Butterfly. It's okay. I swear."

She smiled sleepily. "Don't swear...get in trouble..."

The teen laughed heartily and shook his head, walking to her door and flicking the lights off. "Get some sleep, Star."

The princess burrrowed her way under her blanket and was sound asleep and snoring before Marco shut the door.

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 **Thanks for this prompt, Crystal Persian! Sorry I wasn't able to have it as a stand alone story!**

 **Reviews would be much appreciated.**


	6. Mewberty: the Aftermath

**Mewberty: the Aftermath- Hey guys, I'm back with another drabble!**

 **TheSakuraHunter: Those are all really cute omg. I'm not sure I'll do the first one, mainly because I can't help but wonder how to write it in an interesting way, but I'll definitely give the other two a shot.**

 **ZarroWWolf: I'm glad you're enjoying so far lol**

 **Don't forget guys, I'll willingly take requests. I don't own Star vs. the Forces of Evil.**

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GENERAL POV

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" _Star…you're scaring everyone…."_

 _The look on his face morphed from anger to fear as she turned on him. His pupils dilated and he stumbled back slightly, his Adam's apple bobbing_

 _You're scaring_ me.

Star shot straight up in bed, clutching her chest and breathing heavily as the dream flooded out of her memory.

The magical princess leaned forward and pressed her hands to her head, trying desperately to think. Marco hadn't actually said that, had he? Had she actually been scaring him? She knew he had been startled, but had she scared him?

Star took a shaky breath and slipped out of bed, wrapping a blanket around her and leaving her room. She tiptoed down the stairs and into the kitchen, flicking on a small lamp that sat in the corner. Soft yellow light flooded the room and Star rummaged around in the fridge for a moment before pouring herself a glass of milk and sinking into a chair at the table.

The girl traced her finger around the rim of her glass slowly, trying to remember if Marco had said anything to her after the whole incident had occurred that would implied she had freaked him out.

She took a sip of her milk and pursed her lips. Star vaguely remembered yanking Marco around via a volleyball net….had that freaked him out?

Star sighed and clunked her head onto the table, her lower lip quivering slightly. She didn't want to scare Marco. She didn't want to hurt him, either. But that seemed to be exactly what she was doing.

Soft footsteps entered the kitchen and Star turned her head to see Marco watching her quietly, his eyes filled with concern. "Star? Are you okay? I heard you come downstairs."

Star just shrugged and turned away from him again. After a brief pause, Marco sat down in the chair next to her and crossed his arms on the table. "What's bugging you?" he asked softly.

She grimaced and stared down at her hands. "Me," she finally responded.

Marco didn't respond for a moment, and she could clearly picture the confused look that was most likely on his face. "What do you mean, you?"

Star spread her hands, nearly knocking her blanket to the floor. "I…today, when I was in my Mewberty form….I freaked everyone out. I freaked _you_ out," she finished softly.

She could hear the soft "oh" that spilled from his lips, but she didn't expect him to wrap an arm around her. "Star, you didn't freak me out. I mean, I was kinda startled, yeah. But freaked? No way. You're my best friend. If anything…I was freaked that I would lose you."

She lifted her head to look at him, surprised to see the hurt in his eyes. "Really?"

Marco smiled tenderly at her and stood, holding out a hand. She accepted it and they moved silently to the couch in the living room, curling up with Star's head on Marco's shoulder. "Really," he answered once they were settled. "Star, I couldn't picture my life without you anymore. As insane as everything is sometimes, I like it."

Star smiled into the darkness and pulled the blanket around so it covered both of them. "Still…I'm sorry if I scared you. I never meant to do that."

Marco chuckled and shifted down into the couch, shutting his eyes and listening to the soft ticking of the clock on the wall before answering her. "I know. It's okay. Trust me, Star."

He rested his head on hers and took a deep breath as he wrapped an arm around her waist. "I'm just glad you're still here."

Finally able to relax, Star shut her eyes and the two fell asleep within minutes, snuggled up against each other with smiles on their faces.

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 **I like snuggly cutesy Starco, where they're not quite a couple, but they're obviously getting there. Short, but you know.**

 **I've gotten really into this cute little show called SheZow recently, and I think that everyone should watch it. It's on Netflix, and it's about this dude named Guy who accidentally turns into a female superhero and it is the dorkiest, most adorable thing I've ever watched and it goes against so many gender norms, it's wonderful.**

 **Anyway, reviews are awesome!**


	7. Grave

**Grave: So this was based off of a sentence starter courtesy of writeworld on Tumblr, and was originally posted on my Tumblr.**

 **Anormal-Snivy: That is absolutely the show, he turns into a female superhero and I love it. Yeah modern day parents are dumb. And don't worry, this fanfiction won't get any higher than a T.**

 **Th3 Pho3nix 2.0: Well, I'm not really good at AU's unless it involves Percy Jackson or Ferbel (Ferb/Mabel), so I'll have to decline on that.**

 **Imaginativegoody2shoes: I looooooooved Blood Moon Ball, especially the dance sequence. I literally squealed.**

 **I don't own Star vs. the Forces of Evil.**

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GENERAL POV

* * *

"You're not going to get anywhere staring at my grave, you know."

Marco knew she couldn't hear him, but that didn't stop him from walking over to Star and kneeling next to her prone form, keeping an eye out for threats. He sighed quietly and looked sideways at the girl, cringing when he saw the tears running down her cheeks.

"This wasn't your fault, Star," he murmured, leaning against his gravestone. "I chose to jump in front of that blast. It would have killed you, and you need to stay alive for your kingdom."

Star whimpered softly and rested her hand against his name, pressing the fingers of her free hand tightly to her lips. "I'm so sorry Marco," she whispered hoarsely. "This…if I hadn't come here, you'd be alive right now and I…I'm sorry."

Marco swallowed and scooted over to her, wrapping a transparent arm around her shoulders. "Star, please. You need to go. You need to get the wand back from Ludo. That matters more than anything. I'll still be here when you get back. I promise."

Star brushed away her tears and took a shaky breath, bringing her fists down on her knees. "I'm going to get that wand back," she determined, making Marco wonder for a second if she could hear him.

"Good for you, Star," he cheered, jumping to his feet and watching Star push herself into a standing position.

"I'm going to get that wand back," Star promised, "and then I'm getting you back. No matter what it takes."

Marco froze. "Star…no. No, that….that could hurt you."

She clenched her fists, staring down at the tombstone. "I'm getting that wand, I'm beating the absolute shit out of Ludo, and then I'm bringing you back. I need you here, Marco."

She shut her eyes for a moment, her lower lip quivering. Marco reached out to try and touch her, but of course he slipped right through her, his arm turning into mist before he pulled back. Star shivered and opened her eyes again. "I'm not leaving you behind Marco. Not ever again."

She spun on one heel and strode out of the graveyard so quickly that, even if Marco could follow and hadn't been tethered to his grave, he couldn't have kept up.

The young ghost fell to his knees and wrapped his arms tightly around himself, willing her to change her mind and not do anything more than get the wand back.

He knew it wouldn't work, however. Knew that she would try everything to get him back, and it would fail. Because on the other side, in the ghost realm, he could already see her grave starting to form.

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 **Don't worry, Marco is only dead for this one. Hem. Yes.**

 **Reviews?**


	8. A Clean Room

**A Clean Room**

 **Prompt idea submitted by TheSakuraHunter. Thank you!**

 **Guest: I tend to do that to a lot of people lol :)**

 **Finnjr63: Awww don't cry, here, have a cuter chapter.**

 **Th3 Pho3nix 2.0: I'm sorry, but I don't feel I can accurately portray the characters in that way. I am not very skilled at writing AUs.**

 **I don't own Star vs. the Forces of Evil. I kind of want to save up my money and buy a custom mermaid tail online…**

* * *

GENERAL POV

* * *

Marco sat up from pulling garbage out from underneath Star's bed, wiping a hand across his forehead and letting out a puff of air. "Yeesh, how does a princess make such a mess by herself?" he muttered.

The teen rolled his eyes and dropped the crumpled up paper into the trash bag at his side, standing up and lugging the bulging plastic over to Star's desk. He pulled out the chair and sat down with a thump, immediately beginning to go through the papers scattered across her desk to see if they could be sorted.

Star had been really stressed out lately. Her mother had been getting on her more and more about being a better princess, and that piled on top of school work and her popularity (which Marco knew was mainly because she was a magic princess who rarely said no, sadly) and her bewilderment of earth was making her sleep poorly and just be generally anxious.

Marco thought it might help if he straightened up her room so, while she was out with his mom picking out a cellphone for her to have in emergencies, Marco had taken it upon himself to clean up a little.

Like the gentlemen he was, he stayed away from her closet and dresser, mainly worried about cleaning up the garbage from around the room and straightening out and dusting knick knacks.

He scanned the papers in his hands one by one. If they looked foreign or were written in another language, he immediately set them aside into a pile he deemed the "Mewni" pile. Anything that he could read or looked like homework, he set into an "Earth" pile.

This went on for a bit, and eventually became a monotonous task that required little attention, at least until he uncovered a seashell covered notebook.

Noting that the desk was nearly cleared, Marco flipped open the notebook to see if it contained school notes or princess spells.

 _Day One: I don't think Marco likes me much…..maybe not at all. I've only been on earth for a day and I already want to go home. I didn't mean to make him upset, and I know he said he wanted me to stay, but I can't help but think that he'll always have a grudge against me._

"Marco?"

The by nearly leapt out of his skin and Marco shot his head up, his cheeks burning with embarrassment and his heart pounding. Star stood in the doorway, her eyes filled with a mixture of confusion and anger. "What are you doing with my journal? What are you doing in my room, actually?"

Marco jumped to his feet, dropping the notebook like it was on fire and glancing at it only long enough to make sure it actually landed on the desk. "I uh…I noticed how stressed you'd been and um…I wanted to try and declutter your room."

Star just stared at him, her wand hanging limply in one hand and a shopping bag dangling from the other. Her fingers clenched on the wand just enough to make Marco tense, and she tilted her head. "Why were you reading my journal?" she demanded again.

Marco held up his hands quickly, stepping away from the desk. "I didn't know it was a journal, I swear. I opened it up to see if it was in English or Mewnian…I was sorting papers into piles…"

Star pursed her lips for a moment before silently walking to her bed and dropping her bag onto it. She sat down on the freshly made comforter and turned the wand over in her hands silently, her eyebrows furrowed. Marco chewed on the inside of his cheek and anxiously cracked his fingers. "Star, I swear…."

"I believe you," she interrupted. "Just…how much did you read?"

Marco winced and moved to sit down next to her, making sure to stay on the side that didn't have the wand. "Just the first couple of sentences. It didn't really sink in what I was reading until too late. I'm sorry."

He put as much sincerity into his words as possible and they fell into an awkward silence, both of them staring at the rug. Marco glanced sideways at the girl and sighed softly.

"Star….I don't hold a grudge against you, and I don't hate you. I promise. When I said that I didn't want you to leave, I meant it."

She shut her eyes and tugged harshly on a strand of hair. "Great," she mumbled. "Now I made you feel bad."

Marco shook his head rapidly and turned to face her. "No, no way. I mean….I feel bad that you thought I didn't like you. Star, you're my best friend. There's no way I want you to leave. I mean….if you did leave Earth I….I'd really miss you. Really, really miss you. I'm really sorry, I was just…trying to make you feel less stressed."

Star looked over at him and gave him a small smile. "It worked. Thank you, Marco. I don't plan on leaving any time soon, and when I do….well, I'll leave the scissors here."

Marco chuckled and pulled the girl into a tight hug, realizing with a start that she was trembling against him. "Why don't you get some sleep?" he suggested, rubbing her back soothingly. "I think you need it."

She pulled back and held up the bag. "What about my phone? I need to program it, and add in everyone's numbers, and-"

Marco took the bag from her gently and set it on the floor. "Don't worry about that right now. Sleep."

She nodded and rubbed her eyes with her fists while Marco stood and moved towards the doorway. "Oh, and Marco?"

He turned back, raising an eyebrow as she clambered underneath her comforter.

"Thanks for organizing my room, but if you ever read my journal again, I will have to turn you into a cow."

Marco burst into giggles and mock saluted her. "Noted. Sweet dreams."

He shut off the light and pulled the door shut quietly behind him, leaning against the polished wood for a brief moment before smiling brightly and shutting his eyes.

He maybe hadn't told her the whole truth. When Star had walked in the room and said his name, his jumping had caused the pages to slip under his fingers and as he set the journal down, he had caught sight of one sentence that made his heart skip more than he cared to admit:

 _I think maybe….maybe I like Marco._

* * *

 **Wooooaaaaaahhhhhh what? HMMMMMM? Okay, I'm done.**

 **Reviews?**


	9. Camping

**CAMPING**

 **This prompt was given to me by Animation Nut. This should be interesting….**

 **MCPlayer26: Here you go! And if you mean a follow up to the last chapter, there will be eventually.**

 **TheSakuraHunter: No problem! I really enjoyed it!**

 **JGameCartoonFan: Thank you!**

 **Norsk Unicorn: Not as of right now, but there will be a follow up at some point.**

 **Th3 Pho3nix 2.0: Actually an AU is an alternate universe story, or a story that takes place outside of the shows universe. In svtfoe, an AU would be if Marco were the magical princess and Star was the normal earth boy. Fanfiction is a fictional story written by a fan of the show/book/movie that goes further in depth than the actual story line. My stories don't change the canon plot line, they just add to it.**

 **Imaginativegoody2shoes: I will absolutely get to that idea, but I'd want to take some time and write it so that it's not the same as every other "Star goes back to Mewni" story.**

 **AnimationNut: Thank you for the prompt, and I hope you enjoy it!**

 **I don't own Star vs. the Forces of Evil.**

* * *

GENERAL POV

* * *

Marco knew that things on Mewni differed vastly from Earth in regards to a lot of things, but he didn't think that one of those things involved camping.

He stared up at Star with a tiny smile twitching on his lips, watching as she struggled to tie up their bag of food in a tree. Her wand was in her mouth and her knees were hooked around a thick branch and one hand was wrapping the rope of the bag around the branch as the other one clutched onto the bark.

"Star, are you sure you don't want help?" Marco called up to her, glancing over his shoulder at his parents. He was silently relieved that they had offered to set up the tents; he didn't trust Star to not accidentally turn them into something.

"No…I….GOT IT!" she yelped, tying off the bag and letting go. The bag of food promptly unraveled and smashed to the ground, making Marco wince. Star groaned and thumped her head against the trunk of the tree. "Camping is haaaarrrrrrrd, Marco."

Biting back a smile, Marco picked up the bag, tied the rope securely around it, and tossed the end of the rope over the branch. He pulled it up and tied the rope around the trunk of the tree in one swift mood, tugging on it to make sure it was taut.

"Right," he agreed, grinning up at her. "Hard."

Star pouted and jumped to the ground carefully, bending her knees to absorb the shock of her fall. "Yeah, well….show off."

Marco chuckled and they headed back to the campsite to find Mr. and Mrs. Diaz pounding in the last stake on Mr. Diaz's and Marco's tent. Star and Marco's mother would be sharing the other tent for the weekend.

"Need any help, Mom?" Marco asked, stopping next to his mother but keeping well out of the way of his father's swing.

Mrs. Diaz wiped her forehead and smiled up at her son. "We should be good, dear, but thank you. You can help Star move her stuff and my stuff into our tent though, or get dinner started. The supplies for tonight's meal are still in the car."

Marco nodded in agreement and turned to Star. "Will you put yours and my mom's stuff away while I start dinner?"

Star saluted with her wand, nearly setting a bush aflame, and hurried off to grab her stuff from the trunk of the car while Marco ventured around to the front to grab the charcoal and matches and starter fluid for the fire pit.

He had just tossed in some charcoal and was dowsing it in starter fluid when a muffled scream came from his left. He set the bottle down and whipped around to see Star's tent billowing down around her, the girl thrashing around inside.

Marco winced and got up, jogging over to the tent and grabbing onto the opening. He pulled the door over until he found Star and she stepped out, tripping on the fabric and collapsing against Marco with such force that they both went tumbling to the ground.

"Are you okay?" Mrs. Diaz called to them, standing up from her spot on the grass.

Marco cautiously sat up and pushed Star off of him, grabbing her shoulder. "Star? You good?"

She nodded, somewhat dazed, and clambered up off the ground shakily. "Yeah I'm…I'm fine. I'll fix the tent," she promised.

Mrs. Diaz waved her hand as she walked over. "It's fine honey. All of the poles and everything are still inside, so I can set it back up. Why don't you help Marco start dinner?"

Star smiled hesitantly and followed Marco to the fire pit.

Over the course of the next thirty minutes, she set two trees, one can of pork and beans, one of Marco's socks, and the end of her ponytail on fire. Finally, Marco had her sit down on one of the logs next to the fire pit while he set up the grate over top and started cooking the hot dogs and remaining can of beans. Star relented sadly and sat with her chin in her hands, watching the flames flicker quietly.

It started to get dark as they ate, and Mr. Diaz broke out some sticks and marshmallows to make S'mores before bed.

Somehow, and Marco would never figure this out, Star dropped her entire S'more into the fire and just stood there for a long minute, watching it burn.

"It's okay," Mr. Diaz promised, pulling out more chocolate. "You can make another."

Star shook her head and glanced down at the ground. "No…that's all right. I'm kind of tired, I think I'll go to bed."

Marco looked up at her in concern. "You sure?"

She gave him a tight smile. "Yeah. Night, everyone."

Star trudged into her tent quietly and Marco sighed, turning his S'more over in his hands and losing his appetite for the treat. "I feel bad," he finally said. "She was just trying to help. I've never seen her so clumsy."

Mrs. Diaz frowned. "I haven't either. I know they don't have camping on Mewni, but it really isn't that hard."

Marco glanced back at Star's tent and pursed his lips. "She'll be okay," he decided after a moment. "She's tough."

* * *

The next morning, just in the time it took to get out the cereal from the bag they had hung in the tree, Star tripped over three logs and nearly dropped her wand into the fire that Mr. Diaz had built for coffee.

Marco calmed her down by handing her a bowl and spoon, something he knew she wouldn't mess up, and the four of them sat in silence and munched on bargain brand cereal. While they cleaned up, Marco looked over at Star. "Want to go hiking? There's a great little trail that leads to the top of the mountain."

Star hesitated a second too long and Marco tilted his head. "Star?"

She glanced at him and nodded, washing her spoon. "Yeah, that should be fun."

They finished cleaning up and gathered up water bottles, a camera, extra socks, and each of them packed a lunch to take with them. Marco told his parents they were going, and they set off on a trail that wound into the woods and gradually climbed the mountain.

After a couple minutes of silence, Marco began talking, pointing out different birds and trees and plants, occasionally leaning down to pick up a cool rock that he would tuck into the side pocket of his backpack.

When almost fifteen minutes had passed and Star had yet to do more than make an interested sound, he chuckled. "Sure beats the woods in Mewni, huh? At least nothing out here is trying to kill us."

Star flinched so slightly that Marco wasn't sure he had actually seen it. He frowned and stared at the ground, watching his feet slog along the dirt path.

They continued on in silence, one of them occasionally taking a swig of water or pausing to snap a picture, but no words were spoken between the two of them.

Star dropped her water bottle twice, nearly fumbled the camera off of a waterfall, and tripped over seemingly nothing. When she tripped for probably the seventh time and actually hit the ground, dropping and cracking her water bottle in the process, she stayed on the ground and burst into tears.

Marco froze, immediately dropping his backpack and kneeling next to her. "Star? Hey, did you hurt yourself?"

She shook her head, her shoulders trembling against the dirt. Marco reached out and gently pulled her into a sitting position, sinking down on her left side. He rubbed her back slowly and stared at the trees for a moment. "What's up?"

Star hiccuped and leaned heavily against him, shaking. "I keep screwing up," she finally said. "I'm _never_ this clumsy, I don't know what's wrong with me!"

Marco winced and squeezed her shoulder gently. "Well," he said thoughtfully, "it is your first time camping. I expected a couple mishaps."

Star swallowed. "I did too," she murmured. "But not this many."

Marco glanced at her and frowned. "Hey," he said softly, reaching over and brushing a tear from her cheek. "It's okay. We all screw up. It's all right. Do you want to keep hiking, or go back?"

Star shook her head and rested her cheek on his shoulder. "Can we just sit here? I don't really want to do either."

"Of course," Marco mumbled.

They sat there for a long time, and after a while Marco dug around in his pocket and pulled his cellphone out. It had no signal, but he tapped the camera icon and switched to the front facing camera. "Say cheese!" he said, holding the phone up.

Star frowned. "Cheese?"

He snapped the photo and studied it for a moment, shaking his head. "No, this is all wrong. Gotta take the selfie again."

"Selfie?"

He ignored her. "Smile!"

Star managed a halfhearted smile, but Marco tsked softly. "Nope, nope, nope. Let's try again."

He held the phone at arm's length and made a goofy face while Star smiled normally. When she saw the photo, she burst into giggles, and pretty soon they were taking selfie after selfie, some serious and some silly.

When Marco's phone battery warned him that it was dangerously low, he turned it off and put the cell away, turning to Star. "Feel better?"

She grinned at him. "Yeah. Thanks, Marco."

* * *

They headed back to the campsite laughing and talking. When Star nearly walked into a tree branch, she hesitated for a moment, and then chuckled. "I have got to be more careful," she declared, ducking under the branch.

Marco smiled and they greeted his parents as they stepped back into the clearing for dinner, mac n cheese. It looked like it was planning to pour, so while Marco and Star had been gone Mr. Diaz had torn down camp. They had been planning to go back in the morning anyway.

"Marco, honey, can you and Star go get the bag of food down from the tree?" Mrs. Diaz asked, looking up from her boiling pot of water. "Dinner will be ready in five."

Marco nodded and they deposited their bags on the ground, going to get the bag. Star held up a hand as Marco reached for the knot around the tree. "Let me do it. I think I got it this time."

Marco stepped back, hands in the air and a smile on his face as Star carefully undid the knot and grabbed hold of the rope, reaching her arms above her head so that the bag lowered far enough to grab.

In a split second, Star was dangling from the tree branch, having been pulled up by the weight of the bag. She clutched onto the branch and glared down at Marco, who was trying hard not to laugh as he gathered up the bag.

"Not one word, Diaz."

* * *

 **So, not so much camping mishaps as "Star sucks at all things camping and Marco cheers her up." Still….camping.**

 **Reviews?**


	10. Racism

**So I got this idea from starcoforever on Tumblr. It involves racism and a couple of slurs, so if that affects you at all don't read. Also, if there are mistakes, it's cause I wrote this at 2 am and didn't catch them all.**

 **I don't own Star vs. the Forces of Evil.**

* * *

GENERAL POV

* * *

Marco got home late from school that day. Like really late. Like it was getting dark outside late. He knew that Star had obviously beaten him home, so he did his best to duck his head and get to his room as quickly as possible.

A hand fell on his shoulder just as he grabbed onto his doorknob and Marco flinched. "Marco honey? Why are you home so late?"

Marco swallowed at the sound of his mother's voice and turned around, keeping his head tilted towards the floor. "I uh…stayed late to work on a project with Ferguson."

His mother remained silent for a moment before putting her index finger under his chin and lifting his head so that she could see him properly. Mrs. Diaz flinched as she took in the sight of her son's bruised face and she tenderly used her thumb to wipe a smudge of dirt off of his cheek. "Oh Marco, what happened?"

Marco shook his head, his eyes brimming with tears as he pulled away from his mother. "It's nothing, Mom. I'll deal with it, okay?"

Mrs. Diaz studied him for a long moment before nodding and leaning over to kiss his forehead. "All right honey. I love you."

Marco swallowed and gave his mother a quick hug. "Love you too, Mom."

He escaped her grasp and ducked into his room, shedding his hoodie and walking over to his closet mirror. He took a second to study his newly forming black eye and the bruises littering his face and he sighed, rummaging through a box on the floor of the closet and pulling out concealer. He wasn't very experienced with the makeup, but he was able to use it well enough so that all bruises but the one around his eye were covered.

He tucked the box back into the closet and leaned against the cold surface of the mirror for a moment, taking a minute to breathe deeply.

He'd have been fine if he hadn't had to stop at the dojo on the way home from school to grab his uniform, which he'd left there at the last practice. On the weekdays, the dojo was a relatively safe area. But during the weekends, especially in the early evenings, the streets were crowded with nasty people that Marco didn't like to intermingle with.

He shook his head wearily and crawled into bed without bothering to put on his pajamas, flicking off his lamp and burying his face into his pillow, feeling the lump in his throat start to grow.

His whimpers broke loose after a failed attempt to hold them back and Marco cried until he was so exhausted that he collapsed into a heavy sleep.

* * *

"Marco! Come on, come on, come on!" Star shouted, jumping up and down around him as he ate his lunch. "We have to go to the carnival NOW!"

Marco chuckled, wincing slightly as one of the bruises just next to his mouth started stinging. "Okay, okay Star. I'll be done in just a minute, okay? Go grab some money from Mom."

She skipped off happily and Marco quickly finished the remains of his sandwich before ducking into the downstairs bathroom to double check that the concealer he had reapplied that morning was still doing its job. He had told Star that his black eye had come from getting into a fight with Jeremy, and after he had convinced her not to beat him up for it she had dropped the subject.

Marco sighed deeply and plastered a smile on his face as he and Star left the house, calling out a goodbye to his parents on the way out.

They picked up Ferguson and Alfonso on the way to the carnival, and though Alfonso frowned at the sight of Marco's black eye, the two teenage boys didn't comment on it, knowing exactly what had happened.

Star kept up a lively chatter the whole way, describing carnivals on Mewni (Marco didn't think he would like them, if the bobbing for eyeballs was any indication of what they were like) and asking the boys hundreds of questions about Earth carnivals, which they tried their best to answer.

Marco shivered as they reached the downtown area, despite wearing his usual hoodie, but he swallowed his fear and shut his eyes for a moment, listening to Star's happy laughter. He slowly relaxed and opened his eyes again just in time to swerve away from a lamppost.

When Star saw the carnival, she let out a squeal so loud that all three boys slapped their hands over her mouth.

"OH. MY. GOSH. LOOK AT THIS OH MY GOSH THERE'S A BIG EYEBALL THING THAT PEOPLE ARE IN AND OH MY GOSH A _MAN EATING FIRE_ AND OOOOOH GIANT TEDDY BEARS!"

The boys held back their laughter as they followed Star around the carnival, watching her ooh and ahh over all of the attractions and games. They came across a ring toss game eventually where the big prize happened to be a massive plush rainbow, and Star stood there for a minute drooling over it before spinning on Marco.

"Marco, how do I get that rainbow?" she demanded, pointing behind just in case Marco couldn't see the enormous prize.

Marco laughed and turned Star back around, pointing to the rules. "You get three rings for a dollar, and you have to get all three rings on the soda bottles," he explained, gesturing to the soda bottles set up on the ground.

Star nodded thoughtfully. "Doesn't seem too hard," she declared, tugging a dollar from her purse and sliding it across the counter to the woman in charge. "Three rings, please."

The attendant obliged and Star's "easy game" idea was quickly foiled as she missed all three tosses. "Darn it," she muttered, digging another dollar from her purse.

Marco knew he had lost her to the game, and when he turned around found that he had also lost Ferguson and Alfonso to the Ferris Wheel (somehow, Marco had a feeling those two would end up dating).

Giving a shrug, Marco informed Star that he was going to go grab a churro from one of the food vendors, to which she responded with a vaguely uninterested "Okay yeah, you do that."

Marco shook his head and slipped into the crowd, finding the churro cart and paying the man behind the counter for one. He munched as he walked, observing the games thoughtfully and trying to decide what he would be best at luck wise.

He played a couple of games aimlessly, not winning much more than a lollipop and a pack of gum. He checked in on Star a couple of times, still trying to win that rainbow, and spotted Ferguson and Alfonso heading excitedly into the haunted house attraction. Oh yeah. They were _definitely_ going to start dating one day.

Marco smiled and stuck a piece of his gum that he had won in his mouth, moving to the edge of the grounds and sinking down onto the curb as he blew a bubble and popped it loudly. He crossed his legs and tilted his head back, studying the sky and realizing with a start that it was beginning to grow dark out. Had they really been there for that long?

Shrugging, Marco scanned the carnival grounds slowly, chuckling at the sight of little kids carrying plush animals bigger than them and the weary parents tagging along after them carrying everything else. He was glad he didn't have to deal with that.

"Well, look what the cat dragged in over the border guys."

Marco groaned inwardly, suddenly wishing he _did_ have a screaming child to attend to. Anything would be better than these guys

He turned to scowl at a group of boys, probably 18 or 19 years old, as they approached him, sneers on their faces. The tallest of the group tilted his head mockingly, his bald head glistening under the lamp lights that were turning on. "Yo, didn't we get your face harder than that yesterday?"

Marco remained silent, mentally cursing at himself for having left Star. The bald headed guy suddenly snickered. "Yo, he's wearing _makeup._ What a fucking pussy."

Marco swallowed hard and looked away, his eyes stinging as he tried desperately not to cry. He knew these guys were jerks; they always hung around the dojo on the weekends and taunted anyone who went in and out, unless that person happened to be a buff male. The girls got harassed, the younger boys got called nasty names, and people like Marco….

"What's the half breed doing out here all by himself?" one of the lanky guys sneered, laughing like he had just said the funniest thing in the world.

Marco shut his eyes tightly and pursed his lips. People like Marco got racist slurs.

"What, did your daddy dump you over the border and leave you here?"

He fought to remain quiet. He had heard every insult before, knew they were just using it to bait him into fighting, and knew that no matter what they said his parents loved him.

"Nah man, daddy probably fucked his mommy and ran. Stupid American slut."

Marco was on his feet in an instant, his fist flying before he really knew what he was doing. A hand intercepted his fist and Marco cursed mentally for giving in to the fight before a steel toed boot kicked him squarely in the gut and he hit the ground hard, gasping for air.

"Look at that, he tried to fight us. Go back to your own country, you dumb fuck."

Marco flinched as the boot kicked him in the side, and before anyone spoke another word, a narwhal came flying out of nowhere and slammed into the bald guy head on, knocking him to ground hard.

Marco spun around to see Star standing there and he wiped at his face quickly, wincing when his hand came away covered in blood. He hadn't even _felt_ the guy hit his nose.

"You leave him alone!" the princess demanded, storming over to them in a rage that Marco had never seen before.

"Aww look at that, little half breed got himself a trophy girl."

Star's face morphed into a mask of confusion and Marco climbed to his feet, hands clenching into fists. "Don't you dare insult her," he hissed.

The group of guys laughed and turned to go. "Whatever. Fucking border niggers."

Marco flinched at the use of the n word and immediately turned away from Star, rubbing his arms against the sudden cold of the night air and struggling to hold back his tears.

"Marco?"

Lower lip trembling, Marco glanced over his shoulder at Star to find her watching him in concern. When she saw his bloody nose she grimaced and dug into her purse, pulling out tissues and handing them over to him.

He dabbed cautiously at his nose while Star looked after the forms of the guys with an irritated face. "What the heck was their problem? And what is a border n-?"

Marco slapped a hand over her mouth, shaking his head. "Don't. Don't ever say that word, Star. Ever. It is a really, really offensive word and it is not okay for us to say it."

Star nodded and Marco removed his hand, taking a deep breath. She tilted her head slowly. "But…what…why were they calling you that stuff?"

He looked at her in bewilderment. "You…really don't know?"

She shook her head in confusion and Marco sighed, running a hand through his hair. He really didn't want to have to explain this to her, but he knew she wouldn't let up. "It's…this thing called racism. It's when people hate somebody for the color of their skin."

Star frowned. "What?"

Marco gave her a grim smile and continued dabbing at the blood on his face. "Yeah…those names they were calling me, they're insults. Because I'm half Mexican."

Star just stared at him. "That's…that's so dumb. Who would make fun of someone for that?"

Marco gestured angrily towards where the guys had run off to and shook his head. "It's okay. It happens all the time. I didn't get into a fight with Jeremy yesterday; I got in a fight with those guys. I try so hard not to but….when they go and insult my mom I just….I lose it."

His voice cracked and Marco looked down at the ground quickly, wringing the tissue in his hands. Star stepped over to him quietly and drew him in for a hug, holding onto him for a long time. "Well," she said finally, "how do we stop racism?"

Marco laughed bitterly. "We can't. At least, not soon. It's been around since Earth was formed, and it doesn't look like it's ending any time soon."

Seeing the look of defeat on Star's face, he shrugged. "But I mean…you could stand up for people who are getting bullied, like you just did for me. Thanks, by the way."

Star gave him a sad smile. "You're my best friend. Of course."

"Hey! Guys, Ferguson won a five pound gummy bear!" Alfonso yelped, running up to them with Ferguson behind him, lugging a massive red gummy bear.

Alfonso stopped as soon as he saw Marco's face, and he winced. "Again?" the teen asked in exasperation, digging into his pockets and pulling out a mini first aid kit he always had on him. Marco took it with an annoyed nod and Alfonso scowled as Marco pulled out an alcohol wipe and tenderly swiped at his nose.

"Did you kick their butts?" Ferguson asked around a mouthful of gummy bear ear.

Marco glanced at Star and smiled. "Star did. Look, I don't really want to talk about this anymore. This was supposed to be a fun night. You guys up for a ride in the spinning tea cups?"

Ferguson looked down at his gummy bear and turned slightly green. "I'll uh…I'll hold our stuff," he decided.

Alfonso and Marco laughed, and as they started to walk away, Star caught Marco's sleeve. "If anyone is ever…saying that stuff to you again…tell me, okay? I can have them beheaded in seven different dimensions."

Marco chuckled and gave the girl a tight hug. "Thanks Star."

They separated and followed after Ferguson and Alfonso, who were running ahead and laughing. "You know," Star said thoughtfully, "they're probably gonna start dating."

"I know, right?"

* * *

 **I have a love for Alfonsuson. They are adorable.**

 **Reviews are lovely!**


	11. Bubble Tea

**Bubble Tea**

 **I decided I needed something cutesy to offset all the whatnot in the recent chapters. For those of you who don't know, bubble tea is tea with balls of tapioca in them.**

 **Note: The rating on this story has been changed to T, so chill.**

 **ZarrroWWolf: Lol well thank you**

 **Acosta perez jose Ramiro: Oh absolutely. Star has so many bizarre looking friends that skin color is the farthest thing from her mind.**

 **Star-of-gravity: Angst is my favorite thing in the world to write. You get so many emotions out of it. I will absolutely write that, but I just wanted to give something a little lighter because of the last chapter.**

 **Thewookie1: Hi, I don't believe we've met. My name is Rebecca, and I am severe advocate for equality. I have written 18 stories (one of which is inside of a series of one shots for PnF) about racism, homophobia, child abuse, and depression. I write about touchy topics that other people don't mention. If you have read my stories, you would know that I don't throw in homosexuality to advocate for something, I truly ship Alfonsuson because they are adorable together. The last chapter was a reminder that Marco is half Mexican, and as proven by a couple reviews in the comments, racism towards Mexican people is still very alive. I write to make people aware and to get out my own frustrations about the matter. I can't do much myself to combat racism, but I can certainly raise awareness about it. There is NOTHING "random" about social justice, at least not in my stories. They aren't "suddenly" gay, I'm very open about shipping them. And nothing is out of context? It's a series of one shots that have nothing to do with each other. There is no continuation thus far in any of these. If you are going to be offended when I write about racism or homosexuality, I suggest you don't read my stories because I am very into writing about those things.**

 **I don't own Star vs. the Forces of Evil.**

* * *

GENERAL POV

* * *

"Okay Star, are you ready to try bubble tea?" Jackie asked with a sly smile.

Bouncing up and down on her toes, Star grabbed for the cup of peach tea bubble tea that Jackie had ordered for her and studied it intently. "Why is it called bubble tea?" she asked, glancing up at Jackie out of the corner of her eye as she attempted to get the rather large straw into her mouth and sit down at a table at the same time.

Jackie, who Star had started hanging out with while Marco was at karate class, only grinned and took a sip of her own as she sank easily into her seat. "Try it and find out."

Star shrugged and slurped at the beverage, only to leap back seconds later and nearly drop the cup. "What WAS that?!" she yelped, staring at the drink in horror. "There was something _in_ there!"

Jackie nearly tumbled off of her chair in laughter as Star calmed down, looking suspiciously at her drink. "You…you should have seen your face…oh my gosh…."

Star pouted and sat back down in her seat, glaring at the tea. "Oh shush. Seriously, what were those things?"

Jackie giggled and grabbed a spoon, digging into her cup and pulling out several black round orbs from inside the drink. "They're called tapioca balls. They kind of look like bubbles, so that's why this is called bubble tea. I just didn't tell you because I knew your reaction would be awesome."

Star furrowed her eyebrows and plucked one of the tapioca balls from Jackie's spoon, tossing it in her mouth and chewing it slowly. Her eyes widened in surprise and a smile slid across her face. "Those _are_ good!" she exclaimed, turning back to her own tea and drinking it earnestly.

Jackie grinned and dumped the rest of the tapioca back into her cup with a small splash. "I know, right?"

Star mock glowered at her. "You could have warned me beforehand though."

"That takes all the fun out of it," Jackie protested with a smile. "It's not very often earth stuff surprises you."

Star had to hand her that. "True," she mumbled around her straw. "Still, better watch out next time I have you try something from Mewni."

"What?"

Star ignored Jackie and glanced at the clock on the wall. "Oh, Marco's done with karate. See you later, Jackie. And thanks for the tea!"

She darted out the door with her cup clutched in her hand, leaving Jackie to vow that she would never, ever try something from Mewni.

* * *

 **Short, but I was looking at an advertisement for bubble tea and realized that Star probably would have no clue what it was. And I have yet to write about Jackie in this series, so yeah.**

 **Reviews are awesome!**


	12. Tumblr

**Tumblr**

 **Okay so I found this prompt on tumblr about one person finding another person's tumblr. I promise I'll get to requests, I just am having a brain fart about how to do them. This could be considered a continuation of Chapter 8 if you want it to be. Idk what this shit it.**

 **Ninjablue245: That's another name for it, but where I'm from we call it bubble tea haha.**

 **Finnjr63: YES. I don't know what I would have her try. Darned writers block.**

 **AnimationNut: AHHHHHH thank you that means so much to me that you enjoy it!**

 **I don't own Star vs. the Forces of Evil.**

* * *

GENERAL POV

* * *

"You sure you got it now?" Marco asked in exasperation.

Star stared at the computer thoughtfully, chewing on her wand as her eyes narrowed. "I think so…what's this clicky thing called again?" she asked, pointing to the mouse.

Marco groaned and Star gently pushed his shoulder. "Kidding silly. I got it. I'll let you know if I need any more help. Thank you."

Marco saluted and left the room, leaving Star staring at the laptop. "All right, computer, it's just you and me," she muttered, cracking her knuckles. "Let's see what you can do."

An hour later Star was glued to the monitor, blowing air out of her nose every now and then as she scrolled through a bunch of cat pictures on the internet. She clicked on one in particular and searched for where it had come from- the _link_ , Marco had told her- so that she could see it in a bigger size.

"What's Tumblr?" Star wondered, clicking on the link and chewing on her wand handle as the page loaded.

Of course, since she was using Marco's laptop, his Tumblr was already logged in and it took her straight to his page rather than to the cat picture she had been hoping for.

"…Marco has a Tumblr?" Star asked herself, a small grin growing on her face. "Okay, let's see what a 'Tumblr' is."

She began scrolling slowly, reading all of the posts, sometimes laughing and sometimes frowning when she would read a post about that thing Marco had told her about, racism. He had a lot of funny pictures on his page, and she soon managed to figure out that if there weren't any little arrows in the top of the post, it meant that Marco had written the post and not someone else.

Most of his posts he mentioned beating someone at karate, or how much homework he had. But the fourth or fifth time Star found a personal post, she could only stare at it, frozen in her seat and reading it over and over again.

 _I don't know guys, I know I shouldn't feel this way about a girl living in my own house, but she's just…so awesome. I love everything about her, how she smiles and how she laughs and how she can be so fierce but so gentle. Gosh I shouldn't like her so much, especially because she'll have to go home at some point (she's an exchange student) but I really care about her. I dunno. I'll probably delete this later._

It was a relatively recent post, the date on the bottom said it was last week, and all Star could do was sit with her hands over his mouth and stare at the words.

Marco _liked_ her. He LIKED her. Star wasn't quite sure what to do with the new information.

Sure she liked him back, but she didn't want to ruin their friendship if they didn't work out. So what was she supposed to do?

Star swallowed and exited out of the browser, shutting the laptop and sitting back in her seat for a long moment before standing up and taking the computer down the hall to Marco's room. She hesitated for a second before twisting the knob and poking her head into the room.

Marco was concentrating hard on a punching bag, sweat dripping down his forehead and his breath coming in short pants. Star bit her lip and cleared her throat, making the boy look up from his workout

His face brightened into a smile and Star's heart fluttered in her chest at the sight of him. She swallowed the sensation and handed over the laptop. "Here you go, Marco. Thanks for letting me borrow it."

Marco tilted his head as he took the computer from her. "No prob. Find anything interesting?"

Star paused, scanning him closely, her heart pounding in her ears. She couldn't. She couldn't possibly ruin their friendship. Not with Marco. He was her rock, and if she lost him because they didn't work out….

"I found a lot of cat pictures!" she answered, plastering a smile on her face.

Marco laughed, making Star's throat go dry. "That doesn't surprise me. How about I clean up and we head down for dinner?"

She smiled for real that time. "Sounds good to me."

He nodded and disappeared into the bathroom and as the shower started running, Star ran her hands up and down her arms, staring at the floor.

"Sounds good to me…."

* * *

 **Not sure what that ending was, but I thought this would be cute. I promise I'll get to those requests!**

 **Reviews are always appreciated!**


	13. I Want You to Stay

**I Want You to Stay**

 **Prepare for another sad one y'all. Character death.**

 **Martyn: No? Firstly because not being able to zip up a hoodie does not equate fatness, second because that's not really something I'm comfortable with writing.**

 **Guest: I've got a request for you: I want you to understand that in this story, in this review section, I am only taking prompts for one shots for THIS SERIES. Second, you might have added a please at the end, but this was basically demanding I write this for you. I'm happy to take suggestions for stories, but you PM me for an actual story, and even then you might not get it. I write what I want how I want. You don't _tell_ me that it will not be a one shot or drabble; if that's how I choose to write it, that's how I choose to write it. Every other author who has requested a story from me has been happy to let me make it however long I want. No. **

**Guys I don't want to be harsh. But if some of you would bother to check my profile, you would realize that I am not having the best time right now. So demanding stories from me is not cool with me, not ever. Don't EVER demand stories from an author, no matter how nice they are. ESPECIALLY if they're nice. If I wasn't in a bad mood right now, I might have said yes just because I don't like denying stories. Frankly I'm tired of being a pushover, and I don't like when people are demanding.**

 **I don't own Star vs. the Forces of Evil.**

* * *

GENERAL POV

* * *

It wasn't a monster that finally got her in the end. Wasn't some snarling beast with two heads or an anthropomorphic frog. Ludo was a no show, and even Toffee wasn't the cause.

No, the thing that ended Star Butterfly wasn't even living.

It was a truck.

On the last day of school of their junior year, the last summer they had before Star went back to Mewni after graduation next year, she ran ahead of Marco out the doors.

She giggled as he chased her, running from her boyfriend of nearly a year. "You won't catch me!" she teased him, running backwards and shaking her wand jokingly at him. Tiny bursts of rainbows flew from it, shining colorful light around Marco.

"Wanna bet?" he called back, hiking his bag onto his shoulders and ducking to avoid a rainbow.

As he came back up, his eyes locking with Star's, his smile dropped. "Star! Look out!"

Her foot slipped from the curb and she stumbled backwards into the road, a scream spilling from her lips as lights blinded her eyes.

Squealing tires and a sickening thud overwhelmed every sound in the area save for Marco's heartbeat in his ears. He saw her get hit, saw her look of terror, watched her body fall.

Her wand clattered to the pavement as Marco shook himself from his trance and ran for her, lump in his throat and tears in his eyes.

"Star!"

His knees burned as he slid next to her, gathering her limp body in his arms and pressing his ear to her chest, listening anxiously for something, for anything.

The quietest flutter reached his ears, dimming quickly, and he nearly sobbed. "Star? Star please. Please. Can you hear me?"

Her body twitched against him and Marco swallowed hard, clutching her to him. People gathered in horror, most on the phone calling 911, but Marco did his best to ignore them. "P-please, Star," he whispered, his voice cracking and tears spilling over his cheeks.

Her body jerked again and a shuddering rasp came from her chest. "Marco…." she managed to choke out.

Marco ran his hand over her cheeks, brushing her hair from her face and trembling. "Star. Star, baby, I'm here. I'm here. Please, Star. Don't go. I want you to stay."

She coughed violently, blood speckling her lips. Marco could faintly make out the sound of sirens in the distance, but he tuned them out and leaned closer. "Please don't go. Please Star. Please stay. Please. I love you."

A peaceful look crossed Star's features and she slumped in Marco's arms, her body literally dead weight.

"Star? Star!?"

He shook her, tears streaming down his face until he registered someone pulling at his arms. Shrugging them off, he laid Star onto the pavement, brushed the blood from her lips, and pressed a kiss to them, tasting copper on his tongue.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I should have protected you. I should have been your hero."


	14. Waiting for Superman

**Waiting for Superman**

 **Okay, I was going to finally get to those requests, until I realized that I needed a lighter chapter, and none of the requests I have can be considered "light." (don't worry, I do have ideas for them and they will get put up). Have a kind of songfic of the song Waiting for Superman (Daughtry).**

 **Twin4444: Well thank you dear**

 **Rayfe: Hicstrid! Yay! And hopefully this one will be better for the feels**

 **AnimationNut: Thank you hon. Hearing that from you always makes me feel really good because you are like my favorite author so it's kinda just like *brain explosion* when you like my writing.**

 **I don't own Star vs. the Forces of Evil or the song. They're owned respectively by Daron Nefcy and Daughtry.**

* * *

GENERAL POV

* * *

Star sat on the window seat in her room, staring down at the street watching the cars pass by. "He'll be here," she assured Marco, who was watching her from the doorway.

He winced and looked away, stuffing his hands into his pockets and trying hard not to look at Star. She looked gorgeous; her hair fell in curls around her cheeks, her eyes sparkled with hope, and she wore a sparkling pink sleeveless dress with a darker pink silk sash slung around her waist.

Currently, she was waiting for Oskar to pick her up and take her on a date. But Marco had a sinking feeling that he wasn't coming; he was supposed to have been there at six, and the clocks hands were slowly ticking their way to half past the hour.

"He's just….he's just running late. Got stuck somewhere, doing something…probably something heroic," Star determined, leaning against her hand and staring dreamily out the window.

Marco didn't want to crush her hopes, so he quietly backed out of the room and slipped down the stairs, sinking onto the sofa and picking up a magazine, flipping through it aimlessly while he watched the clock.

At nearly ten to seven, Star came clattering down the stairs, nearly falling on her face, and yanked on a light sweater. "He's here!" she squealed. "A taxi just pulled up front!"

"I thought he had a car?" Marco asked in confusion, putting his feet on the floor and swallowing at the sight of her, the sight of her smile.

Star shrugged, grabbing her purse and shoving the wand into it. "Must have had something wrong with it," she deduced, twisting the doorknob and pulling the door open.

The movement revealed a very weary Mr. Diaz, who had been on a business trip for the last week, standing on the front step with a suitcase in one hand and keys in the other. A small smile crossed his face at the sight of Star. "Well, it's nice to see you Star, but you didn't have to get all dressed up for me."

Star's entire body slumped and she looked down at the floor, dropping her purse to the ground and brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "It uh….it wasn't for you. Welcome home."

She spun and darted up the stairs, leaving Marco and his father grimacing and staring after her. "Maybe I should go talk to her," Marco suggested, leaning down to pick up her purse from the floor and set it on the entry table.

Mr. Diaz shook his head. "Leave her be for now. I am going to assume that she was supposed to have a date?"

Marco nodded, clenching his hands into fists. "Yeah. That no good, rotten, little piece of s-"

"Marco," his father warned softly.

He swallowed the word and shook his head. "How could he _do_ that to her? She was so excited, she looks so gorgeous….who would stand her up?"

Mr. Diaz smirked to himself and put a hand on Marco's shoulder. "Some people do that. They're just rotten people, son. Make sure she knows that you're still there for her."

Marco nodded, his worried gaze turning to the second floor. "I always am."

* * *

Later that night, nearing eleven, Marco leaned his forehead against Star's door, preparing himself to knock. He could hear her crying inside, and it was tearing him apart. Finally gaining the courage, Marco tapped his knuckles softly against the door. "Star? Can I come in?"

"Go away."

Marco flinched at the crack in her voice and pressed his lips together before pushing the door open and leaning on the doorjamb, studying her sadly in the darkness. "I'm not leaving you, Star."

His heart sank as she turned to face him. Her hair was ratty and tired, her eyes red and smeared with traces of mascara, and her lower lip quivered. She still sat in the dress, the glitter flashing against the harsh light from the hallway.

"He was supposed to sweep me off my feet," she stammered after a long time. "Guys are supposed to do that."

Marco stepped into the room, shutting the door behind him, and walked over to her bed. He sank down on the edge next to her and raised an eyebrow. "What makes you say that?" he whispered.

Star swallowed. "The…it never ends like this in the movies, Marco. The girl always gets a kiss in the end…so why didn't that happen tonight? What did I do wrong?"

"Nothing," Marco said firmly, taking her hand in his and letting her lean against his shoulder. "Absolutely nothing. You are precious, Star, and if he can't see that, then it's his loss."

Star choked back a sob. "I…we were supposed to go dancing, and go out to dinner, and then lay outside and go stargazing…."

Marco shut his eyes, trying to calm his pounding heart. "Well…I'm sorry that didn't happen with Oskar, Star."

He hesitated and then stood and held out a hand. "But would you like to dance?"

She stared at him for a long time, studying him, before taking his hand and letting him pull her to her feet. "Okay," she murmured. "But there's no music."

Marco settled a hand lightly on the small of her back and took her other hand in his, pulling her closely to him. "Does there need to be?"

He gently twirled her around the room, humming quietly in the back of his throat, and Star eventually relaxed, settling her head against his chest and wrapping both arms tightly around him. He prayed that she couldn't hear his galloping heart and slid both of his arms around her waist, leaning his head down and pressing his cheek against her head.

Eventually they stopped moving, just holding each other in the center of Star's room. For a long time they stood, wrapped up in one another, and finally Star spoke. "Hey Marco?"

He tilted slightly away from her, catching her gaze in the darkness. "Yeah?"

She chewed on her lip for a moment. "Thank you," she whispered, ducking her head. "I…thanks."

He smiled tenderly and brushed her hair from her face. "Of course. I wasn't going to let you have an ending to the night that was anything less than movie worthy."

Star stared at him for a second and Marco flushed deeply. "Sorry, that was corny, I shouldn't have said that."

A smile twitched on Star's lips and she shook her head. "No, it's okay. I was just…"

She hesitated and then tugged him down by his collar, pulling his lips to hers carefully. Marco's breathing hitched a little and he slid a hand up, cupping Star's face and drawing her closer, his entire body tingling.

When she pulled back, she tucked her head against his shoulder and hugged him tightly. He ran a gentle hand through her hair, pulling out the knots and tangles while they both calmed their racing hearts.

" _That_ was a movie ending," Star murmured into his ear.

Marco smiled and started humming again, and the two resumed their quiet, swaying dance. He couldn't possibly agree more.

* * *

 **My interpretation of the song is that there's a girl that is waiting for who she thinks is supposed to be her Superman, but he never comes, and the reality is that her real Superman is the one singing the song.**

 **Not really a songfic, more like inspired by the song, I suppose.**

 **Reviews?**


	15. Important

**Important**

 **Okay, so I'm FINALLY getting to Star-of-gravity's request from like, what, chapter 10? Gosh I'm sorry this took so long. Yikes.**

 **H. Mae: Lol yeah I know he actually doesn't seem like that bad of a guy. Probably because he "gets in the way" of Starco…although not in the last chapter haha.**

 **LordryuTJ: I would except I know absolutely nothing about Reddit except that a lot of people don't like it.**

 **I don't own Star vs. the Forces of Evil.**

* * *

GENERAL POV

* * *

"Marco, you need to STOP trying to protect me all the time!" Star spluttered out, whirling around in the backyard to face her friend.

They were surrounded by smoke and dust and broken tree limbs. Star's dress was torn and her pigtails had been pulled out during their most recent battle with Ludo, leaving her looking somewhat crazed.

"Star, I was just trying to-"

"You let your guard down and Ludo almost got the wand,Marco! Stop trying to help! I don't NEED your help! I don't need _you._ "

With that, Star stormed into the house, leaving Marco in the charred remains of his backyard with tears threatening to spill onto his cheeks. "Fine," he mumbled, crossing his arms and swallowing hard. "Fine."

* * *

 _LATE THAT NIGHT_

* * *

"Star?"

The princess glanced up from her math book-why did people on Earth have such pointless school subjects?-to find Mr. and Mrs. Diaz standing in her doorway, looking concerned. "Yeah?"

Mrs. Diaz frowned. "Have you seen Marco, honey?"

Star blinked and set her book down, glancing at the clock. "No. It's almost eleven, he's probably in his room getting ready for bed."

Mr. Diaz shook his head. "No, he isn't. We haven't seen him since before dinner. We assumed he had gone to Ferguson's or Alfonso's after you two had your little…um…"

"Tiff," supplied Mrs. Diaz awkwardly. "But we called their parents, and they haven't seen him. Star, do you have any idea where he could be?"

Star was worried now. She knew, she just _knew_ that it was her fault that Marco was missing. She shouldn't have said all that stuff to him. "No…let me go grab my dimensional scissors. With those, I can transport right to him."

She slipped on a pair of flats and darted down the stairs to grab her purse from the living room, the Diaz's in hot pursuit. She unzipped her bag and stared in blank surprise at the nearly empty space. "It…they were right here! Next to my wand, I swear! I never take them out of here!"

She groaned and sank onto the floor, clutching her bag in her hands. "Marco must have….gosh I am such an idiot."

"No, no, honey, you're not an idiot," Mrs. Diaz reassured her. "You and Marco just…had a fight…and he probably felt…."

"He felt like I didn't want him around," Star choked out, chucking her purse onto the floor with a thump. "This is all my fault."

Mr. and Mrs. Diaz looked at one another sadly. "Star…"

"No," Star said, swiping tears from her eyes. "This is my fault. I….I need to call Pony Head. See if she can find him."

They nodded and let her run back upstairs and into her room, calling Pony Head on her mirror and praying that the princess was still awake. Sure enough, moments later the floating head answered her own mirror, her eyes tired. "B-Fly, it is almost midnight. What are you calling for?"

Star swallowed and sank to the floor, and that captured Pony Head's attention quickly. "Whoa, hey girl, what's up?"

"It's….Marco's missing," Star whispered, looking up at her friend helplessly. "And he took my dimensional scissors, so he could be anywhere. Please, I don't know who else…."

Pony Head shook her…well, head. "Say no more, girl. I can get a pair of scissors from one of the girls down the hall and sneak out. I'll find him, you just hang tight girl. Why'd he leave?"

Star winced. "We…we had a fight….and I told him that I didn't really want him or need him…this is all my fault, Pony Head."

Pony Head smiled sadly. "I'll find him B-Fly. Promise."

With that, the girls hung up, leaving Star to curl up on her rug and start crying.

* * *

Marco trudged along the streets of some unknown dimension, Star's scissors dangling from his belt loops. Tears streamed down his face and he jammed his hands in his pockets, swallowing the massive lump in his throat.

He wasn't quite sure how long he had been dimension hopping, or how long he had been walking, but every time he started losing it he just hopped another dimension and tried hard to ignore the awful feeling in his gut.

" _I don't need_ you."

The words screamed in Marco's head and he gasped, dropping to the ground and grabbing at his temples and struggling not to sob.

"I can't…." he mumbled, swiping the tears dripping down his face. "I can't."

"Marco?"

He flinched, recognizing the sharp accent immediately. "Go away, Pony Head," he whispered, his voice cracking.

There was a long pause, and then the disembodied head nudged her way underneath his arm and leaned against him. "When have I ever listened to you?"

He snorted, shaking his head and sitting back on his heels, looking at her while at the same time trying to hide his bloodshot eyes. "What are you doing here?" he finally asked.

Pony Head studied him for a long moment, knowing that now was no time for insults, no matter how playful. "Star sent me."

"For her scissors, right? Here, take them," he muttered, tossing the scissors onto the dirt in front of her. "I don't care."

"That's a lie," Pony Head declared. "And no. She sent me to come find you."

"Yeah right."

Pony Head sighed, glancing down. "Look, Marco, I'm not good at being sentimental and stuff. But Star is a mess right now. She feels awful about what she said to you. Heck, she's sitting on her floor sobbing right now. And your parents are probably worried too."

Marco shrugged, glancing away and staring out across the dimension, making out shapes that he hoped were just plants. "Doesn't matter. What she said had to have come from somewhere. You don't just say something like that without at least kind of meaning it."

He swallowed and looked down at his hands. "She doesn't need me, Pony Head."

His voice broke and the princess winced, nudging at his shoulder. "Hey man, of course she needs you. Lotsa people need you. You're important."

Marco scoffed and Pony Head rolled her eyes. "Seriously. Who busted me out of princess jail?"

"Me," Marco said with a frown.

Pony Head shook her mane. "Uh huh, and who was the one who came back for me when I was running from those guards?"

"Me."

"And who refused to give up on B-Fly when she was dealing with all that Mewberty crap?"

Marco glanced up at Pony Head, a sad smile on his lips. "Me. Pony Head, I-"

Pony Head cut him off. "Nope. Save it, Earth Turd. We're getting you back home so that you and Star can work this out together."

With Pony Head's help, Marco pushed himself to his feet and swiped the dimensional scissors off of the ground. "Are you uh…are you coming back to Earth with me?"

Pony Head snorted. "Just to make sure you actually go to Earth. This ain't about me."

Marco nodded and sliced a tear in the fabric of space, hesitating for a moment before a slightly menacing prod from Pony Head's horn pushed him through the portal and into his front yard.

"It's past midnight," Marco said with a wince as he glanced at his watch. "I didn't realize…."

"Just go, dummy," Pony Head reassured him. "They're probably still awake. You got this."

Marco paused for a moment, studying the wayward princess, and then wrapped his arms tightly around her neck. The action startled them both, but neither backed away for a few seconds. "Thanks, Pony. I uh…probably wouldn't have come back if you hadn't bothered to come find me."

"Well you are her best bestie," the horse proclaimed, pulling away. Marco waited for her to add "on Earth," and was somewhat surprised when all she said was: "And maybe one of my besties."

They both just kind of stared at one another for a moment before Pony Head gave him an awkward smile and clipped her way back to St. Olga's, leaving Marco standing on his front porch alone.

Taking a deep breath, Marco twisted the doorknob to his house and pushed the door in slowly, quietly, peering around the doorjamb before actually stepping inside. Star and his parents were seated silently around the living room, each one staring at their clasped hands in their laps. Marco flinched and pushed open the door the rest of the way, standing silently in the doorway.

After a long moment, he coughed softly, alerting them to his presence. "Uh….hey."

"Marco!" his mother yelped, leaping from the couch and darting over to him. She wrapped him in a tight hug and plastered kisses all over his face, making the boy squirm in her grasp. "You're okay!"

"I'm fine Mom, I'm fine," he laughed softly, pushing back from her. He gave his dad a sheepish smile over her shoulder. "I'm sorry, guys."

His father ruffled his hair fondly. "We're just glad you're all right."

Marco's mother glanced behind her at Star, who was watching them silently. "We will uh…leave you two alone for a moment, okay honey?"

He gave his mother a grateful smile and watched as they ascended the stairs. When he heard the door to their room shut, he turned his attention back to Star. For a long time, the two of them only stared at each other, trying to decide where to start.

"Star, I-"

She cut him off, flying into his arms and burying her head in his shoulder, sobs quietly wracking her body. "I'm so sorry," she whispered into his ear.

Marco winced and wrapped his arms tightly around her, rubbing her back soothingly. "Star, it's okay. I know you were just angry at me."

"But that doesn't matter," Star protested. "I shouldn't have said that. I _do_ need you Marco. You're really important to me, and I don't want to lose you."

Marco smiled sadly at her and hesitantly brushed a tear from her cheek. "I don't want to lose you either. That's why I try so hard to protect you. And I know," he intervened quickly, seeing her look, "that you can take care of yourself. I know that you don't need a hero. But…sometimes I want to be one. I…I want to be yours."

Star blushed, glancing down at the floor and nudging the carpet with her toe. "Well…I guess you can be sometimes. But you have to know when that's okay, because sometimes it could end badly, like it almost did today…er, yesterday."

Marco nodded in confirmation. "I know. I'm sorry. I swear I'll try to work on that."

She hugged him again, burying her face into his shirt and taking a deep breath, her fingers clenching tightly at the back of his shirt. "I missed you," she murmured against his chest.

He swallowed hard, trying to calm his pounding heart, and chuckled. "I uh…I figured. I mean, you sent Pony Head after me, so you must have been desperate to get me back."

Star giggled and pushed him away gently, her eyes teary but sparkling. "Yeah, well, she found you, didn't she?"

Marco smiled. "Yeah, she did. Thanks, Star."

His pulse raced as he pressed a gentle kiss to her cheek before bidding her goodnight and darting up the stairs, leaving the princess in the living room with a hand on her cheek and a grin on her lips.

* * *

 **Okay, question: do y'inz like the cutesy stuff better, the drama-y stuff better, or a combination of the two? Because when it comes to Starco, I love writing all of it. Also I like exploring Marco and Pony Head's relationship.**

 **What did you guys think of the new Gravity Falls? I, frankly, hate Stanford even more now. But that's just me.**

 **Reviews are awesome!**


	16. Drive

**DRIVE!**

 **Tumblr Prompt au: "you were being chased by the cops, got in my car, and yelled 'Drive!'" I thought an AU would be fun for this chapter (so Marco and Star don't know each other, Star isn't a princess, and they're both in their mid-twenties).**

 **Legogamma: No, this story is T rated only. I do have one M rated Starco story, called** _ **One Thing I Didn't Get to Do**_ **if you really want some smut and lemon.**

 **Finnjr63: Got about ten hours? I despise Stanford for so many reasons, the least of which because the first thing he did upon his return was to punch his brother in the face.**

 **TheSakuraHunter: He's not pushing them away, he's just putting them in a shit ton of danger by making them keep secrets from each other.**

 **H. Mae: Well thanks, but I'll probably leave it as a one shot lol. More reasons to hate Ford: Stanley spent about thirty years paying off his brother's house and making it into a well-run business, and Ford is demanding that it's HIS house and Stanley has to leave.**

 **Star-of-Gravity: No, your first one went through. I'm really glad you liked it! As for Ford, I don't think he's protecting the kids. I think he's more trying to protect himself, and maybe Dipper. Wanna talk protection, Grunkle Stan has done way more than Stanford but everyone hails FORD as a hero. No. Nope. No no no. I hate that man. He was tricked by Bill, yes, but so was Dipper, and at least Dipper was smart enough to make sure Mabel knew what happened so that they could prevent it in the future. Ford hid his past from Dipper and scared the shit out of the poor kid. Frankly I want Ford gone from Gravity Falls. And if Stanley dies, I'm done with the show. I want nothing to do with Stanford. Anyway…rant done.**

 **Anyway, have an AU! I don't own Star vs. the Forces of Evil.**

* * *

GENERAL POV

* * *

Marco was sitting quietly in his car, trying to figure out where he had misbalanced his checkbook, when all of a sudden the interior lights lit up and a blonde haired girl slid into the passenger seat with no warning.

"Drive!" she demanded instantly, looking fearfully out the back window.

Thinking that some thug must be chasing the poor girl, Marco dropped his checkbook, twisted the key in the ignition, and pulled quickly out of the mall parking lot.

It was late out, probably around ten thirty, and Marco had just finished closing up the store that he managed inside of the mall. He knew there was a movie theater nearby, and assumed that was where the girl had come from.

"Are you okay?" he asked, glancing sideways at her.

"Shut up and keep driving."

Okay, _that_ was not the voice of some helpless damsel. Marco slowed to a halt at a stoplight and reached up, flicking on the car light and taking a closer look at the girl.

She wore all black, though her hair would shine like a beacon under any kind of darkness. In her hands was a dark cloth bag and Marco's blood ran cold. Who exactly had he let into his car?

She turned to face him, sparkling blue eyes narrowed, and Marco swallowed at the murderous gaze. "What the heck? Keep driving, moron. I didn't say to stop."

"T-t-the light. Was red," he stammered.

As he spoke, red and blue lights flickered to life around the corner behind him. The woman cursed and reached up to hit the lights, plunging the car into darkness again. " _DRIVE."_

Marco didn't know if she had a weapon on her, so he did as she asked, hanging a right and driving down the road as fast as he dared, his fingers clenched to the steering wheel in terror. He couldn't believe this was happening. He was being carjacked by some criminal!

The police lights showed up in the rearview again, and the sirens reached his ears quickly as they began tailing him, waiting for Marco to pull over.

"Dammit," the girl hissed. Marco snuck a glance at her as they passed under a street light and was startled to see tears glistening in her eyes. She caught him looking and shook her head. "Pull over. I don't want you getting in trouble."

Befuddled, Marco pulled over slowly, putting on his hazard lights and settling the car into park as the police slid to a halt behind him. Glancing at the girl again and seeing how pale she was, the young man made a split second decision, grabbed the bag from her hands, and stuffed it under the driver's seat just before the police came up and rapped on his window.

"Good evening officer," Marco managed to say calmly, an accomplishment in and of itself. "How can I help you?"

"License and registration please."

There was a no nonsense tone in his voice, so Marco leaned over the young woman, who was still staring at him in shock, and grabbed his car's registration from the glove compartment. He pulled his license from his wallet and handed it over to the officer, watching as he inspected it. "Is there a problem, sir?"

"We're looking for a young woman," the man said slowly, narrowing his eyes at the girl in Marco's car. "Blonde, actually. Fit's your description. Her boyfriend called, said she stole some of his possessions and vandalized his car."

Marco frowned hesitantly before glancing back at the girl. Her face was confused but her eyes….her eyes were scared. With only a moment's pause, Marco reached over the center console and grabbed her hand, squeezing tightly. "Well I hope you find her. Allison and I were about to head home. Movie date night," he informed the officer with a grin and a wink.

He felt the girl jump with surprise and forced himself to keep smiling. After a moment, the officer nodded and handed back Marco's license and registration. "Of course. Sorry to interrupt, sir. Ma'am," he said, tilting his hat and retreating to his car.

Marco breathed a sigh of relief and, as soon as the cop car drove off, he spun on the girl. "You _stole_ from your boyfriend and vandalized his car?!" he yelped, wrenching his hand away from hers.

He reached under the seat and ripped the bag from under it, pulling open the top and reaching inside. "Why would you…do…that…?"

He trailed off as he pulled out jewelry and clothes and books from inside the bag. Aside from the jewelry, nothing was really all that expensive. He glanced at the girl again, his anger fading. Marco stuffed everything back into the bag and handed it over slowly. "Talk," he demanded.

The girl winced and shut the bag. "I…first of all, my name is Star. And thanks. For uh…not turning me in, I mean."

Marco nodded briskly and gestured for her to go on. She swallowed, glancing down at her hands. "I um….I used to live with my boyfriend. And it turned out that he was cheating on me. I just found out recently, so I've been living with one of my other friends and then tonight…I caught them at the movie theater and just…lost it, I guess. So I broke into his house to steal back my stuff and got kinda carried away and started scratching up his dumb Mercedes with my keys but…he and his little fuck buddy got home early and he caught me. So I ran."

Marco shook his head in disbelief. "How did you wind up back at the theater?" he asked her curiously.

She shrugged. "He lived just around the corner, so he probably walked there and she drove and met him there. Why uh…why did you cover for me?" she asked softly, looking up at him under a veil of blonde hair.

Marco shrugged, leaning back in his seat and fiddling with his driver's license. "You looked scared," he admitted finally. "And you told me to pull over so that _I_ wouldn't get in trouble. That's not really something a criminal does."

He glanced back up with a smile and held out a hand. "I'm Marco, by the way."

Star smiled and shook his hand hesitantly. "Well thank you, Marco. Where'd you get the name Allison, anyway?"

Marco scoffed and started the car up again. "Ex-girlfriend. Really terrible girlfriend, actually. She was the last person I dated though, so it was the first name that came to mind. Can I take you back to your friend's house?"

Star hesitated, glancing back towards the theater. "I uh…I don't know. If he shows up there….I don't want her to get hurt or get in trouble for hiding a thief."

She slumped in her seat, staring out the windshield as Marco started navigating through the dark backroads. "Maybe just drop me off at a motel," she finally decided.

Marco glanced sideways at her, biting his lip. "Nah. I'm not going to leave you in some dingy motel after you've had such a shitty night. If you are okay with it, you can take my guest room for the night."

She looked over at him suspiciously. "And what do you get out of it?" she asked, a hardness to her voice.

Marco quickly held up a hand, keeping his eyes set on the road. "No. No way, I am not that kind of asshole. I'm just going to ask that in the morning you go to the police station and let them know that it was your stuff you took back and even though you were breaking and entering, it was for a good reason."

Star frowned. "I wasn't even breaking and entering, I still had a spare key to his house."

Marco spluttered out a laugh. "Hah! Apparently he was a dumb-ass ex-boyfriend. Okay, then just offer to pay off the damage to his car. I'll even come with you if you want," he offered.

As he pulled into the driveway to his modest, one story house, Star looked at him gratefully. "Seriously? That would be awesome."

Marco nodded and helped her out of the car, leading her to the front porch and unlocking the door for her. "Yeah, of course. The guest bedroom is just down the hall there," he said, pointing, "and help yourself to whatever in the kitchen. And the bathroom is right here."

He gestured to the restroom and smiled hesitantly at Star, finally getting a good look at her and realizing just how pretty she was. She blushed a little and glanced away. "Thanks, Marco. Sorry to drag you into all of this."

Marco chuckled and shook his head, hanging his keys on the hook next to his door. "It's whatever," he assured her, running a tired hand through his hair. "If you need anything, just let me know."

She smiled at him bashfully and scurried away to the guest room, bag in hand. Marco watched her go, a smile tugging on his lips.

How he had ended up willingly harboring a fugitive in his house he would never be able to explain to anyone.

* * *

 **Okay I actually liked doing that AU. For whatever reason I can only really write AU's for Percy Jackson and Star vs. the Forces of Evil. Everything else just feels forced when I try to write an AU for it.**

 **Reviews are much appreciated!**


	17. Drive: The Morning After

**Drive: The Morning After**

 **Okay so JW TS wanted me to continue this, and I kind of also wanted to continue this, so here, I have continued from the last chapter. Some things suggested, nothing explicit.**

 **Legogamma: I probably won't do a second smut story for Starco, only because it would probably turn out similar to the first and that's really boring.**

 **Guest: Oh goodness, thanks! No, I don't take requests specifically from Tumblr, though if you happened to message me on Tumblr about a story I'd consider it. I was just low on ideas last chapter so I went through my writing prompts tag and found that one. I actually really like your idea, so I will probably use it for the next chapter! Thank you!**

 **I don't own Star vs. the Forces of Evil.**

* * *

GENERAL POV

* * *

Marco woke up somewhat bleary eyed and stared at the ceiling of his house for a long minute, trying to shake off the fog from the previous evening.

As he started to stretch, a soft grumble came from his left and the young man nearly had a heart attack, his pulse pounding as he turned to find Star, the girl that had basically carjacked him the night before, lying next to him in bed.

"Shit," Marco hissed, the rush of events flooding back to him. Squinting one eye shut, he lifted the covers ever so slightly and face palmed, sinking back into his pillow with flushed cheeks. Great. So his dream wasn't just a dream. He was actually butt freaking naked in a bed with a girl he had met literally like ten hours ago.

Glancing sideways at Star, Marco couldn't help but smile a little. She looked peaceful when she was asleep; like she didn't have to worry about her dumb ex-boyfriend or the police arresting her for vandalism.

With a small chuckle, Marco slipped out of bed, retrieved his discarded boxers from the floor, and tiptoed out of the room, nearly tripping over his eight year old Labrador retriever Benny. The dog had been asleep when Marco had come in the night before, curled up in his crate and snoring. Now the dog peered up at him calmly, almost knowingly, and Marco bent down to stroke his golden head briefly before striding towards the kitchen.

After a moment, he could hear the click of Benny's nails on the floor, implying that the dog had followed, and Marco reached up into the cupboard for the bag of dog food.

Once he had situated Benny, Marco started a pot of coffee and sank down at the table, watching the dripping coffee thoughtfully. He wasn't quite sure what to do about Star, especially after….last night.

Marco flushed deeply and glanced down at the table top, a small smile working its way up his cheeks. He had told Star just before midnight last night that she didn't owe him anything for sleeping over. Yet neither of them had gone to bed; rather, they had stayed up late in the kitchen, talking over hot tea and store bought cookies for hours on end. And when they had finally gotten up to go to sleep….well, they had ended up in the same bed. With no clothing. And some very heated kisses. And…

Marco swallowed hard, shaking his head as the smell of fresh coffee wafted past his nose. "Right. Focus, Diaz."

He got up from his chair and poured out a mug of coffee, stirring in sugar and creamer while he wondered whether or not to wake Star up. He had wanted her to turn herself in to the police, after all.

Leaning back once more in his chair, Marco put his feet up on the table and took a long gulp of the burning liquid, reaching down absentmindedly to pat Benny as he trotted over.

"I uh…I smelled coffee."

Her hesitant voice rang through the kitchen and Marco almost choked, looking up quickly. Star stood in the doorway, her cheeks flushed bright red in such a way that it almost looked like she had heart tattoos on either side of her face. Her fingers fiddled at the hem of a shirt- _his_ shirt, he realized with a jolt of pleasure-and she looked nervously about the kitchen as if she had never seen it before.

Marco regained his ability to speak and gestured towards the pot. "Help yourself."

As Star went about making her coffee, Benny curiously walked up to her and nuzzled at her waist, chuffing under his breath. Star's face lit up at the sight of him and she dropped to one knee, ruffling his fur fondly. "You must be Benny," she gushed with a small smile. "Oh my goodness, you are so pretty!"

Benny woofed and licked Star's nose, making the girl giggle. Marco grinned at the sight and Star glanced up, locking eyes with him. After a long moment of pause, she coughed and stood back up. "Right….I uh….should probably get to the police station, huh?"

She stirred her coffee slowly, sitting down across from Marco at the table. He hesitated, tapping his fingers anxiously against the side of his mug, and shrugged. "Probably," he admitted. "But I think uh…I think we need to talk about what happened last night."

Star bit her lip, taking a long sip of coffee before speaking. "Probably," she agreed, lifting her eyes to look at him.

Despite putting it out in the open, neither of them said a word, each one taking careful drinks of their coffee for a solid five minutes. The awkwardness in the air was almost tangible, and Marco could think of nothing more than how gorgeous she was, how much her eyes sparkled, how her teeth pulled at her lips in the most alluring way.

….okay, that wasn't helping.

Marco crossed one leg over the other and tried to search for something to say, only to have Star speak. "So…listen, Marco….last night….I swear that it wasn't a way for me to get over my ex, if that's what you're thinking. I've been done with him for a while, last night when I was vandalizing his car was kind of just revenge for the hell he put me through. But uh….everything after that…."

She glanced up at him, a sheepish smile on her face as she shrugged. "I don't know. You're just…I felt safe with you, I guess. I trust you, even though I haven't even known you a day. And you just seem like a really awesome guy. So what happened last night was because I guess…I guess I really do like you."

Marco remained silent for a beat too long, trying to figure out what to say, and Star's face fell. "Right," she said briskly, shoving her chair back and setting her cup in the sink with such a loud slam that Benny whined. "I'll just get dressed and go, then. You had your fun. Now fuck off."

She stormed out of the room before Marco could respond, and he sat there like an idiot for a minute, trying to process what had just happened. Finally understanding what she thought he thought, he leapt from his seat and darted from the kitchen to his room, finding her midway through pulling on her own pants.

He grabbed her by the wrist, suddenly desperate to not lose her, and spun her around into his arms. Marco pressed a firm kiss to her lips, his pulse rising by the second, and she melted under him, curled fingers smoothing out over his bare shoulders and her body relaxing against his.

"Sorry," he chuckled awkwardly, pulling away. "I couldn't uh…I couldn't think of what to say. But trust me, I definitely did not just do what I did last night because you happened to be here. You uh…you're gorgeous."

He stammered the words and she bit her lip, trying not to laugh. He rolled his eyes and shook his head. "It's true, sorry. And last night, you were willing to give yourself up for me to the cops and I just…no one has ever put themselves in that position for me. You're really brave."

Star smiled, glancing away and sweeping a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. "Yeah well…"

She trailed off, not sure how to finish the sentence. When she lifted her gaze to his again, she gave him a crooked smile. "Guess I gotta go turn myself in now, huh?"

Marco grinned and leaned down, pressing a kiss to her jaw line and sliding his hands down her hips. Star jumped a little but sank into his touch as he trailed kisses up to just behind her ear.

"Maybe not just yet."

* * *

 **Wooh hi yes hello. That was fun.**

 **Question for y'inz: Currently I'm an early childhood education major. I'm thinking about switching to creative writing. Do you guys think I have a shot with that? (Answer honestly, I really need feedback about this)**

 **Reviews would be fantabulous!**


	18. Amnesia

**Amnesia**

 **This one was left by a guest reviewer who didn't give a name, so I hope they read this! This week has been really shitty, so I'm hoping writing this will help.**

 **Lost: Not…really? I don't write fuck buddies. I don't particularly agree with the idea of a fuck buddy, so I would never write it.**

 **Imaginativegoody2shoes: Well I hope you're feeling better, and thank you!**

 **Thanks to everyone for the feedback about changing majors. I'm still not certain, but your positive commentary made me a bit less stressed out.**

 **I don't own Star vs the Forces of Evil.**

* * *

GENERAL POV

* * *

Star spun around the corner into the emergency room, the Diaz's close on her heels. She nearly slammed into the receptionist desk before she managed to catch herself and, swiping a strand of hair out of her face, she looked down at the nurse desperately. "Where's Marco?"

The woman pursed her lips slightly. "Are you family?"

Star groaned. "I might as well be!" she answered.

Mrs. Diaz put a gentle hand on her shoulder. "It's okay, Star. She's with us," she informed the nurse. "We're Marco Diaz's parents. We got a call from his friend Alfonso that our son fell pretty hard from a tree, hit his head."

The nurse's eyes morphed from irritation to concern. "Oh yes, of course. May I see some identification?" she asked as she looked up Marco's name on the computer.

After providing the proper information, the receptionist sent the trio back to room 326. Alfonso and Ferguson were sitting outside the room, leaning against each other and holding hands tightly. "Is he okay?" Star asked her friends anxiously as she raced up.

Alfonso frowned. "The doctors won't tell us anything because we're not related to him. They just said that he might have a pretty bad concussion. He's in there now, but we aren't allowed to go see him without your permission," he informed them, looking towards Marco's parents.

"Where's the doctor?" Mr. Diaz asked the boys.

Ferguson jutted a thumb into the room. "In there, doing some tests or something. If it's not serious, I don't see why we aren't allowed in."

"Hospital policy, boys," said the doctor, stepping from the room and holding out her hand to the Diaz's. She had dark skin and darker hair, tinted a red color and pulled up into a tight ponytail. "Marco should be fine," she informed them gently. "I'm Dr. Carson. He has some head trauma, got a pretty good concussion, but he's been responding well to tests. He knew who his friends were, who his parents were, what the date and president are…things like that. You can see him, but keep quiet. He's very sensitive to light and noise right now."

The Diaz's nodded gravely. "Was he hurt anywhere else?" Mrs. Diaz asked nervously, gripping her husband's arm.

Dr. Carson smiled gently. "Not that we can find, no. He's covered in scratches and bruises, of course, but nothing very serious. He's lucky; he could have broken his neck if he had fallen any other way."

"Why was he in the tree in the first place?" Mr. Diaz asked, directing the question at Ferguson and Alfonso.

The two boys looked at one another and then back at the Diaz's. "He um…thought he saw a monster spying on him. He went to fight it."

Everyone's gaze flashed to Star, whose face had paled. So this was _her_ fault. She should have known; when wasn't it?

"Can we see him now?" Star asked softly, ducking her head to hide the tears in her eyes.

Dr. Carson nodded. "Of course. Press the call button if something seems wrong. I'll be right down the hall, and if nothing else serious turns up in his bloodwork, he'll be free to go home this afternoon."

The Diaz's thanked her and waited for her to leave. "Boys, would you mind waiting here?" Mr. Diaz asked. "I don't think he should have too many visitors at once."

Alfonso and Ferguson shook their heads, though they looked disappointed. "Go ahead," they said in unison.

The Diaz's and Star stepped into the room quietly, Star behind them and looking curiously around the room. She had never been in a hospital before; when Marco had broken his arm, his mom had made Star stay home.

The room was small, filled with beeping machines and monitors that Star didn't understand.

"Mom, Dad, hey."

Marco's voice reached her ears and Star bit back a gasp, leaping around the adults and flinging her arms around Marco's shoulders. "Oh my gosh, I am so sorry Marco! I'm so sorry you got hurt, and I'm so happy you're okay!"

"Uh, thanks," Marco fumbled, looking at his parents in bewilderment. "But…who are you, and why are you hugging me?"

Star froze, her heart thudding painfully in her ears as she pulled back, staring Marco in the eyes. "You….you're serious?"

Marco tilted his head slowly, squinting his eyes as he studied her. "Yeah. Mom, Dad, who is this? Some new foreign exchange student you didn't tell me about?"

Star looked back at the adults, who looked stricken. "Marco, honey," his mother said gently. "This is Star. She's been living with us for almost three months."

Marco frowned. "No way. I think I would have remembered that."

Star stepped back, her knees shaking. "You really don't remember me…or…or any of the things we've done?" she whispered, her voice cracking and the tears fighting their way down her cheeks.

"Sorry," Marco said apologetically. "I don't."

Star fled from the room, clutching her arms to her stomach and darting around corners until she was outside. The second the sun hit her face, she dropped to her knees, buried her face in her hands, and started sobbing.

After a moment, the doors behind her opened. "Star, honey?" Mrs. Diaz murmured, kneeling next to her and putting a gentle hand on her back. "It'll be okay."

"No it w-won't," Star stammered, swiping tears from her face. "He d-doesn't remember m-me. Anything about m-me. It's l-like I n-never existed."

Mrs. Diaz drew the girl closely to her and rubbed her back soothingly, making shushing noises. "Honey, you know that most people recover 100 percent from amnesia, right? He still has his memories of you, they've just been….knocked out of reach, for a lack of a better phrase."

Star swallowed hard, looking up at the woman with heartbreaking eyes. "R-really?"

When Mrs. Diaz nodded, Star took a deep breath and sat back, wiping the last of her tears away. "So…how does he get his memories back? And….why was it just memories of me that disappeared?"

Mrs. Diaz tucked a strand of Star's hair behind her ear. "I don't know, sweetheart. And as for getting his memories back, sometimes just being in a familiar environment helps. So we're going to tell Dr. Carson that he does have some amnesia, and see if we can take him home. Okay?"

Star nodded and allowed Mrs. Diaz to pull her to her feet and lead her back inside, where Alfonso and Ferguson were waiting. Mrs. Diaz left Star with them and went back to Marco's room to help her husband talk to the doctor.

"Sorry, Star," Ferguson said quietly, glancing down. "We should have told you he didn't remember you."

Star swallowed, looking at the boys. "How did you know?"

Alfonso winced. "On the way over here, in the ambulance, we asked if he wanted us to tell you what happened with the monster, and he asked who we were talking about."

Star took a shaky breath and wrung her hands together. "Right. Okay. It's….it's okay. I'll be fine. He'll be fine. Was…was there actually a monster?" she asked them.

Both boys shrugged. "We didn't see," Ferguson admitted. "Marco's foot slipped, and we were more worried about him than a monster. Sorry."

Star absentmindedly waved a hand at them. "It's okay."

"Could you use your wand to fix him?" Alfonso pondered.

The princess grimaced. "I…the last time I tried to heal him, his arm turned into a tentacle. I don't want to make things worse for him."

The boys agreed that that was probably a valid point, and all three fell silent as a nurse rolled Marco out in a wheelchair. The Latino was protesting that he was fine to walk when his eyes landed on Star and they all fell into an awkward silence.

"I'll go get the car," Mr. Diaz said quickly. "Alfonso, Ferguson, do you need a ride home?"

Ferguson waved his cellphone in the air. "I called my parents while Mrs. Diaz was talking to Star. My dad'll be here in a few minutes to get us. Thanks though."

Mr. Diaz vanished and Mrs. Diaz went to fill out the release forms at the receptionist's desk, leaving the kids in an uncomfortable circle, Star staring at the ground quietly.

Ferguson and Alfonso were admittedly very worried about Marco, but they were more worried about Star. They had never seen her like this, so Alfonso quickly took Marco aside while Ferguson persuaded Star to join him at the vending machine. "Dude, are you _sure_ you don't remember Star?"

Marco looked back towards the girl, who was watching in mild amusement as Ferguson struggled to pick up the coins he had just spilled to the floor. "No. I'd remember meeting someone that pretty."

Alfonso froze, his mouth hanging open and his pointer finger in the air. "You…what?"

"Well yeah," Marco said, blushing slightly and glancing at his friend. "She's gorgeous. How could I forget someone like that? Don't say that to her, though."

Alfonso bit back a smile, his eyes sparkling. "Not a chance," he promised. He had known that Marco had a crush on Star; this just kind of proved it. If amnesiac Marco liked Star, then the real Marco who actually KNEW Star did too.

Alfonso glanced out the doors of the hospital and beckoned Ferguson and Star back over. "Ferguson! Our ride is here!"

Ferguson bid Star and Marco a goodbye and left munching on a candy bar, a wide grin splitting his face as Alfonso whispered something in his ear. Marco and Star were left alone again, each one hoping that one of the Diaz's would come back and save them from the awkwardness.

"So….you really live with us?" Marco asked finally, glancing up at the girl.

Star bit her lip and nodded, clasping her hands in front of her. "Yeah. I'm…"

She trailed off, not sure she should tell Marco the truth about who she was as she flashed back on the first time they had met, how freaked out he had been. "I'm a foreign exchange student," she finished after a second.

Marco nodded slowly. "Well…I'm really sorry that I don't remember you, Star. That must suck for you….not too great for me, either, if you actually have been living with us for as long as Mom says you have."

Star gave him a sad smile and glanced away, and Marco silently kicked himself for hurting the poor girl. He didn't remember a thing about her, but something about her expression made Marco think that they had been really close.

He froze as his mother started pushing his chair outside where his father was waiting with the car. What if he and Star had been _dating?_ What if that was why she was so upset?

Marco glanced over at her from the corner of his eyes and decided that, no, they hadn't been dating. Not the way she had greeted him, with a relieved hug instead of a kiss….unless of course, they hadn't kissed yet, or…

Marco shook his head. He had to stop thinking those things. For all he knew, Star only tolerated him. He shifted into the backseat of his car and remained silent on the drive home, wondering just what their relationship had been.

* * *

Over the next few days, he struggled to remember. He had nearly screamed when he had walked in the front door and been jumped on by like five different puppies, but after learning that they had gotten them after Star moved in, he calmed down. Their eyes always seemed to be glowing though, which was kind of creepy.

Star had yet to let him in her room, he was forced to stay home from school for two weeks or until his concussion healed, and his parents wouldn't even let him go into the backyard. Why, he couldn't figure out; all that was there was a hammock and some cacti, not some remodeled portion of the house that he wouldn't remember.

He and Star tiptoed around each other for almost a week, and it started to really get to Marco. He was frustrated that he didn't remember her, and he knew that she was probably feeling worse, if only because she DID remember everything.

His schoolwork was brought home by the girl every day, and every now and then he would stand in front of her door for a solid five minutes, wanting to knock and ask her a question but never gaining the courage.

Nearly a week and a half after his release from the hospital, as Marco stood in front of her door once again hoping to get some guts and knock, he heard a crash from inside Star's room, and then a suspiciously feminine shriek.

"Star?" he called in confusion, thinking that maybe she had seen a mouse or something.

The sound of something _blowing up_ really got his attention, and before Marco knew what he was doing, he had wrenched open her door and stepped inside to find a room that most definitely did NOT match the décor of the rest of the home.

The worst part was that it was filled with monsters, one of which was a massive lobster that held a struggling Star in his claw, clenching her to the point where she had tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Star!" Marco yelped.

Without thinking, he dove at the monster holding her, tackling him head on and sending him to the ground, successfully knocking Star from his grasp. The next few minutes were a blur, Marco slamming his elbows and hands and knees and feet into every creature that attacked him. He felt their hits like they were nothing, attacking with some renewed energy, as if he were _used_ to this.

Minutes later, Marco stood back, panting and trembling and surrounded by defeated monsters. Star stood in the center of the room, her hands limp at her sides as she stared at him in shock. "Marco?"

"Did Ludo get the wand?" Marco demanded, scanning the room for the tiny monster.

Star swallowed hard. "What did you just say?" she whispered, her eyes beginning to brim with tears again.

Marco furrowed his eyebrows and glanced back at her. "I said did Ludo…get the….wand…."

As he stared at the girl in front of him-no, the _princess_ in front of him-Marco realized that he remembered everything that they had ever done together, that he had probably been hit hard enough to bring his memories back during the fight, and his eyes met Star's at the same time she realized it too.

"Marco," she murmured.

She flew at him, leaping into his arms and burying her head in his shoulder, her body shaking as they clung to each other.

"While this is sweet and all," Ludo interrupted with slight disgust, "I think we have some unfinished business."

Star pulled away from her friend only enough to pull her wand from her waistband and point it at them. "I don't think so," she growled. "HONEYBADGER SNAKE STRIKE!"

The monsters paled, if monsters could pale, and ran for the hills as honey badgers combined with snakes (or, snadgers) started hissing and snarling as they chased after them. When the room had been cleared out, Star turned back to Marco, dropping the wand to the floor.

"You remember me?" she choked out.

He smiled warmly, a real Marco Diaz smile, and drew her towards him. "Yeah," he said softly. "I do. And I never, ever want to forget you again, because that was awful."

"How do you think it was for me?" Star spluttered, her eyes tearing up again. "I knew what we had done together, knew like everything about you, and you had no idea who I was or what I was and-"

Marco pressed a firm kiss to her lips, yanking her against him as tightly as possible and tightening his grip on her waist. Star sighed against him and slid her arms around his neck, pulling him even more closely towards her.

He broke away breathless, his eyes sparkling mischievously. "Star," he said quietly, his breath sweeping across her lips and making her shiver. "I'm not forgetting you again. Not ever again. I promise."

"That's a pretty big thing to promise, Diaz," she informed him, her heart hammering.

He grinned. "Not if we write it all down. Everything up until this moment, everything after this moment, so that we never forget. What do you say?"

Star stared at him for a moment, a smile on her lips. "I say yes," she declared, burying her head into his chest and focusing on the sound of his racing heart. "As soon as we clean up my room."

Marco groaned, glancing around at the debris covering the floor. "Man, I should have stayed outside."

Star pulled back and slapped at his shoulder. "Shut it, Diaz, and grab the broom. We got a story to write and a room to clean, and neither is going to do itself."

"Says the princess from another dimension with a magical wand."

"Shush."

* * *

 **Yeah I've been really into sappy Starco lately. Idk, this probably stinks. Y'all like my snadger reference?**

 **Reviews are much appreciated.**


	19. Storm the Castle: Aftermath

**Storm the Castle: Aftermath**

 **Sorry, I absolutely needed some closure from that last episode. Spoiler alert lol.**

 **Finnjr63: Aw well thank you. Personally I think all of my stories should be made episodes, but I'm only saying that cause then we get Starco, Ferbel, Candace as a mermaid, ghost seeing Ferb, and like five hundred other things. But I digress.**

 **Watermalone: Oh gosh well thank you so much! I'm really happy that you enjoy all of them!**

 **Ellie: I dunno, I don't think Marco would reject Jackie if she asked him out. He'd say yes, all excited, but then after the date would realize that he just…didn't really like her like he thought he did. Marco's a gentleman; he wouldn't turn down a girl unless he already had an established girlfriend.**

 **Have more Starco-y moments (they don't get together, but sometimes fluff is better than relationships) *throws glittery starco feels around* It's short but feelsy**

 **I don't own Star vs. the Forces of Evil.**

* * *

GENERAL POV

* * *

"MARCO!"

Star screamed and shot upright in bed, wrapping her arms around her body and shivering. With shaking legs, she slid onto the floor and stumbled for the hallway blindly, tears clouding her vision as the floor turned from cold tile to soft carpet.

He met her halfway, running up to her in the hall and gently grabbing her biceps. "Star? What's wrong?" he asked softly, searching her gaze.

Star choked back a sob and launched herself into his arms, breaking down against his shoulder. Very carefully, Marco lowered them to the ground and pulled her into his lap, stroking her hair slowly. "Hey. Talk to me. What's wrong?"

"I…I had a d-dream," she hiccupped quietly, her voice vibrating against his arm. "And…and Toffee….I wasn't fast enough and you….it closed in too fast, and I wasn't quick enough….to save you."

Marco grimaced and tugged her closer, shutting his eyes and burying his face into her neck. "Star. I'm okay. I'm okay because of you. I'm right here, and I don't plan on going anywhere."

Star swallowed hard. "B-but it's m-my f-fault that you g-got c-captured in the f-first p-place."

Marco pulled back and gently took her face in his hands, brushing away her tears with his thumbs. "Star. Look at me."

She sniffled and lifted her puffy red eyes to meet his gaze, moonlight filtering in through the hall window and bathing the two of them in a soft halo. He smiled tenderly and swiped yet another tear away. "I promise you, I don't blame you. I choose to help you, Star. The _second_ I jumped in front of you the first day we met to protect you from that monster, I chose to help. And I wouldn't change it for anything."

"But…but Toffee-"

"Is gone," Marco assured her, rubbing his hands up and down her arms gently. "You took care of him, once and for all. And you saved me, and even Buff Frog. I still don't understand that, by the way."

Star gave a halfhearted giggle, glancing away. "Me neither," she admitted, shuffling so that she was sitting next to Marco instead of on him. "I'm sorry."

Marco shook his head and leaned over. "It's okay, Star. Are you going to be okay?"

"Are you?" she retorted, startling the boy more than he cared to admit.

"Me?"

"Yes," Star insisted. "You almost got killed, Marco. And don't think I didn't see your face when I blasted that cage open."

Her slight smile faded and she looked down, her lower lip quivering. "You were scared of me."

Marco shut his eyes tightly for a moment, trying to figure out how to respond. "Yeah," he finally admitted, reaching out, taking her hand in his, and stroking the back of it with his thumb. "Yeah, I was scared Star. I had never seen you so angry before, and later I realized…I realized that you were angry for me."

He caught her intense gaze, his eyes shining with an appreciation deeper than Star had ever seen in anyone. "You gave up _everything_ ….for me."

She blushed furiously under his stare and ducked her head. "You're my best friend," she finally croaked out. "I couldn't let you die."

Marco wrapped an arm tightly around her and drew her to his side, leaning back against the wall. "You were terrifying," he continued, "because you were serious. And even in the biggest battles with Ludo, I don't think you've ever been completely serious."

"You weren't in danger before," Star whispered, leaning her head on his shoulder. "I'm so sorry, Marco."

He pulled her to her feet quietly, keeping a hold of her hand for a moment. "You have nothing to be sorry for," he said finally. "I wanted you to stay, Star. I wanted to help you. I wanted you around. I accepted the consequences that came with it. There is nothing to be sorry for. You saved my life…how can I hold anything against you?"

He leaned over and pressed a whisper of a kiss to her cheek, hesitating just slightly before pulling her into another hug. Star buried her head against his chest, shutting her eyes tightly and listening to the sound of his heart beating.

"Will you be okay tonight?" he asked softly, his chin on her head.

Star's breathing hitched. "No," she mumbled, clenching her fists around the fabric of his pajamas. "No."

Without a word, Marco scooped her into his arms, bridal style, and carried her back to her room. She left her head against his chest, his movement and quiet breathing calming her terror and lulling her back to a sleepy state.

As Marco settled her into her bed and began to leave, Star shot her hand out and grabbed his wrist. "Please. I don't want you to go. I want you to stay with me."

The faintest smile flickered across Marco's face at the words and he slowly drew back the covers, climbing in next to Star and settling against the pillow. She scooted over to him silently and wrapped her arms tightly around his torso, using his chest as a pillow.

Marco gently ran a comforting hand through her hair. "Don't worry," he murmured. "I'll be here when you wake up. I promise."

She nodded and sighed softly, and within minutes both exhausted teenagers were fast asleep, curled around each other and smiling into the darkness.

* * *

 **GOD that hug at the end KILLED ME HOLY BEJEESUS DID YOU SEE MARCO'S FACE? If the episode had ended there I think it would have been perfect. Everything after her getting her wand back felt awkward and unnecessary.**

 **Also sassy Marco is LIFE.**

 **Anyway, review please!**


	20. Orejas

**Orejas**

" **Every morning you walk in and inhale deeply and then walk out again just buy something already" bakery AU. Writing this to keep my hands busy so I don't do something dumb.**

 **Oopsidied: Well thank you so much! And I did read yours, and I really enjoyed it!**

 **Shouldercookie: Oh absolutely.**

 **FallingNarwhals: My personal theory is that Toffee cut off his own finger and didn't regenerate it so that, if he did die somehow (perhaps from an exploding wand), he would be able to regenerate from that piece of finger.**

 **Ellie: No, I still don't think he'd accept without thinking. Marco genuinely has a crush on Jackie, and would be ecstatic if she asked him out. But I think he has a crush more on the idea of Jackie than Jackie herself, kinda like Isabella with Phineas.**

 **I don't own Star vs. the Forces of Evil.**

* * *

GENERAL POV

* * *

She came in to Marco's family bakery every single day, spider backpack slung over her shoulder, took a deep breath, and then walked out again. That was it. She never bought anything, never said hi to everyone, never even looked at the bakery display cases.

It was getting on Marco's last nerve.

He worked there around his college classes, taking over for his mother so that she could take some time off every day. His dad was the baker of the group, making incredible Mexican delicacies that made everyone's mouths water to the point where they had an immense need to buy something. The air was filled with the aroma of fresh bread and strawberries and pastries daily, and alongside the Mexican desserts Mr. Diaz also baked "traditional" American sweets to appeal to the older generation of customers.

Marco worked as the cashier and, when the bakery was quiet, cleaned up after the customers in the tiny sitting area they had by the front windows.

That girl, though. She came in every single day, save for Sunday when the Diaz Bakery was closed, always exactly at 10:32 am, breathed, and walked out again. And after nearly three weeks of this behavior, Marco was determined to make it stop.

He was wiping down the counters when she came in that Thursday. The bell above the door jangled as she stepped inside, and his head shot first to the clock and then to her.

Right on time.

He studied her closely, watching as she smiled, shut her eyes, and sucked in a breath of warm air. When she had gotten her fill, she turned and put her hand on the doorknob.

"Oh my gosh, would you just buy something already?" Marco spit out in exasperation.

She froze in place, glancing back over her shoulder at him in confusion. "Excuse me?" she asked indignantly.

Marco pursed his lips and set his rag down on the counter, storming out from the back and striding over to her in three quick steps. He crossed his arms over his flour dusted red apron and scowled. "You heard me. You come in here every single day and don't even buy anything. What the heck is up with that?!"

The girl spun around, her light blue eyes flashing with annoyance. She swept her hair from her eyes, momentarily distracting Marco with the incredible golden color, and tightened her grip on her backpack. "What, is smelling illegal now?" she retorted.

Marco pouted. "No," he admitted, "but loitering is."

The girl's eyebrows shot up. "Um, hey bozo, I'm only in here for like five seconds every day. I'd hardly call that loitering!"

They continued their glare off for nearly a minute before Star glanced away to check the clock. "Gah, I'm going to be late to psych! Fine, I'll buy something if it'll get you off my back!"

She stomped over to one of the display cases and studied it for a second, leaving Marco to stand in surprise in the middle of the floor. The girl glanced over at him impatiently. "Well? You're the one who wanted me to buy something."

Marco shook his head and hurried behind the counter, tapping his fingers anxiously against the register as he waited for her to make a decision. "The uh…the _orejas_ are really good," he commented, his accent shining through like it always did when he said the names of the Mexican desserts.

The girl glanced up with a puzzled look. "My fourth grade Spanish is a little rusty, but aren't _orejas_ ears?"

Marco gave her a smile and pointed to the ear shaped pastry behind the glass. "You would be correct. They're basically just cinnamon, sugar, and puffed pastry. My dad also brushes butter on them."

"I'll take one," the girl decided, brushing a strand of hair behind one ear. "Your dad owns this place?"

"Yup," Marco said, popping the 'p' as he grabbed a sheet of plastic wrap and slid the biggest _orejas_ into his grasp. "I work here to give him and my mom a break every now and then."

He shuffled the pastry into a bag and shut the glass door that encased the desserts. He straightened up and folded the top of the bag over to seal the warmth in, handing it over to the girl. "I'm Marco, by the way," he told her.

She smiled as she took the bag from him. "I'm Star," she said, reaching around to grab her wallet from her backpack. "I uh….I always just come in here cause it reminds me of my grandmother's cooking. Her house always smelled this good. Of course, she was German, not Mexican, but still."

She finished rambling and pulled out her wallet (with a unicorn pattern on it, her favorite animal) to pay Marco, but he held up a hand. "Consider this one on the house," he said sheepishly.

Star just stared at him for a second, the wallet loose in her grasp. "Huh?"

Marco chuckled, leaning against the counter. "Well, I hate to say it, but you walking in here every single day makes people think that there's really good stuff in here. Which there is," he assured her quickly, "but most people see a tiny little bakery and don't give it a second glance. I've gotten more customers since you started walking in every day than I ever did before. So I guess this is my way of thanking you."

Star burst into giggles. "I thought you hated me?" she laughed, stuffing her wallet back into her bag and clutching onto her pastry bag with both hands.

Marco smiled, running a hand through his hair. "Nah," he said with a shake of his head. "Irritated that you never bought anything, but I couldn't hate you when you brought in half of my customers."

Star grinned and glanced at the clock with a wince. "I have to go, my psychology class starts in five minutes. But thank you, Marco."

She strolled to the door, reaching into her pastry bag as she did so and pulling out the _orejas_ to take a massive bite. Marco watched with a smug smile as her face melted into pure bliss, her eyes shutting for just a moment as the flavors overwhelmed her. Every customer had that reaction to his father's baking.

When she had regained her senses, Star glanced back over at him with a wink. "See you tomorrow?" she asked.

Marco stammered out a response as she exited the bakery, and slowly went back to wiping down the display cases and the counters. He would never have imagined that this girl that had annoyed him so often would turn out to be so awesome.

Maybe one day he'd get the guts to ask her out.

* * *

 **I read this AU on Tumblr and really wanted to do it. I had to look up the** _ **orejas,**_ **and now I really want to make some because DANG they look good.**

 **Review please!**


	21. Babysitters of the Year

**Babysitters of the Year**

 **Prompt from Weatherbug02. I'm really into writing for this show right now like ugh that hug really got me going.**

 **Fvcutie0028: No that actually sounds so good! It's like people think pierogis sound gross because it's noodles with potatoes and cheese inside but they're actually so freaking good.**

 **Weatherbug02: I hope you enjoy, and welcome to the fandom!**

 **Guest: Hmmmm….I might have to make it shorter or change the plot a bit, but I kind of really want to give that a shot so we'll see how it goes.**

 **I don't own Star vs. the Forces of Evil. This takes place before Toffee is introduced.**

* * *

GENERAL POV

* * *

"What do you mean, I have to babysit Alyson?" Marco groaned as he trailed his mother around the kitchen.

Tying her apron around her hips and pulling out a cutting board, Mrs. Diaz gave her son a look. "I mean, their normal babysitter had a family emergency and couldn't make it, so she called me today and asked if you could. She lives right across the street, Marco, it was the least I could do."

Marco groaned. "Mom, you know I love kids, but Alyson is a real handful. I don't know how a six year old manages to catch and release a wild raccoon in her own house, but she did it!"

"Pffft, that's ridiculous Marco," Mrs. Diaz scoffed, slicing down the middle of a tomato and beginning to dice the fruit. "If you're so worried, why don't you take Star with you?"

Marco chewed on his lower lip for a minute. "Except I feel like Alyson is basically what Star was like as a kid, soooooo…."

"Oh come on honey, just take her. She might have fun," his mother said with a chuckle. "And if what you said is true, then Star would know exactly how to deal with her."

"Deal with who?" Star asked, bouncing into the kitchen and leaning up against the counter.

"You and Marco are going to be babysitting at 6 tonight," Mrs. Diaz informed her, scraping the diced tomatoes into a bowl.

"But Mom-" Marco started.

"Uh uh," she snapped, squinting her eyes at him and pointing the knife at him. "You're going and that's final."

Star leaned over and settled her chin on Marco's shoulder. "You probably shouldn't argue with someone holding a knife," she murmured.

* * *

"Thank you so much again, Marco," Mrs. Morris said, slipping into her jacket. "And Star, it's so nice to finally meet you. Alyson! Marco's here to see you honey!"

A squeal came from up the stairs and pattering footsteps sounded overhead as Alyson clambered down the stairs, black pigtails bouncing in her face. She lunged from the bottom step and tackled Marco in a full on hug, nearly knocking him to the floor in the process. "Marco!" she giggled, grinning so widely that Star was able to see the gap where her front tooth had been.

Marco stumbled back, a tiny smile twitching on his lips, and he pried Alyson from his legs and gathered her into his arms. "Hiya, Alyson."

"Alyson, make sure you behave for Marco and Star," her mother warned her, leaning over to kiss the girl on the cheek. "Daddy and I will be home in time to tuck you in, okay?"

Alyson nodded furiously and waved goodbye as her parents exited the house and drove off to their dinner date. As soon as the door shut, Alyson looked at Star quizzically. "Who's that?" she asked Marco.

Marco grinned. "That's my friend Star. And get this, Alyson," he said, leaning down to whisper in her ear. "She's a magical princess."

The girl's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates as she stared up at Star, who was trying not to giggle. "Are you really?" she asked in awe.

Star glanced at Marco silently, raising an eyebrow, and Marco nodded. With his affirmation, she reached into her bag and pulled out her wand, a smile splitting her face in two. "Yup. I'm actually from a planet called Mewni, and this is my magic wand," she informed her, nodding to the wand.

"Can I see?" the girl asked shyly.

"Afraid not," Marco said before Star could respond. "Only the princess is allowed to touch it. But hey, if you go get your art supplies I bet we can make one just like it."

Her eyes lit up at the idea and she squirmed from Marco's grasp and ran back up the stairs. Star turned to Marco in confusion. "What on earth was that for?" she asked, crossing her arms. "I would have been fine with letting her hold the wand. Not like she knows any real spells."

Marco shook his head quickly. "No way. Alyson's adorable, but she….well, she gets into a surprising amount of trouble for someone her age. I think you should hold onto the wand."

Star pouted quietly but nodded, glancing up as Alyson came back downstairs, tugging a box full of art supplies with her that was nearly as big as she was. Marco took it from the girl with ease and led them to the dining room table, where he began setting up shop. "Okay, Alyson, what do you think would make a good base for the wand handle?" he asked, setting the glitter far away from her reach.

Alyson studied the wand closely, brown eyes sparkling with curiosity. "Mmmm….maybe a toilet paper roll? Mommy keeps them in the recycling bin downstairs, but I'm not allowed down there cause the steps are uneven and I might get hurt."

Having known this, Marco glanced at Star. "Will you go grab a couple toilet paper tubes?" he asked her, a smile on his face.

Star nodded. "Sure thing."

As she vanished, Alyson turned to Marco with a twinkle in her eyes. "Is Star your girlfriend?" she asked.

Marco nearly fumbled his glue bottle that he was holding, his face flushing bright red. "Star? Of course not, she's my best friend!"

Alyson squinted at him and Marco swallowed. Why was he letting a six year old make him feel so nervous?

Satisfied with her study of Marco, Alyson sat back in her chair and nodded. "You like her," she declared.

Marco did drop the bottle this time, and as he bent to pick it up took a second to compose himself. He stood back up with a smile and shook his head. "Alyson, I promise I don't. She's just my friend."

He was pretty sure she didn't believe him still, but he managed to distract her attention. "Anyway, why don't you go grab some of the stickers your mom keeps in the living room for you?" he asked, pulling out felt and construction paper. "It'd be good for decorating your wand."

Alyson bounced from her seat and left the room just as Star came back, five or six toilet paper rolls gathered in her hands. She dumped them on the table and grinned. "What were you two talking about?"

Marco jumped, his face flaming hot. "What? Oh, just uh…just how she was going to decorate the wand. I sent her to get stickers."

The words had just left his mouth when a shriek and a crash came from the living room. Marco sighed. "Oh boy. I was hoping we could get through the night without breaking something. Let's go get her," he muttered, moving towards the living room quickly.

Star followed him, and the two froze in the doorway. Alyson was pressed against the wall with several sticker sheets surrounding her and more clutched in her arms, and standing in front of her was Ludo's entire monster army. Ludo himself was sneering at the girl. "Where is she?" he growled in Alyson's face, making the girl whimper.

"Looking for me?" Star snapped, her eyes flashing dangerously.

Marco held his arms out and Alyson immediately ran to him, clambering into his grasp and burying her head in his neck.

"Ah, Star Butterfly," Ludo cackled. "Babysitting, I see? I'd think that would be beneath you."

Star scowled. "No, not at all. You know what is beneath me, though? You."

With that, she dove at the monsters and started blasting them with narwhals, rainbows, and various cats. Meanwhile, Marco did his best to fight while still clutching onto Alyson. His glare in and of itself was terrifying alone, and most of the monsters took one look at him and steered clear.

The fight went faster than usual, probably because Star and Marco were intent on protecting Alyson from the monsters. Within moments Star was kicking Ludo's butt back through the portal to Mewni, and they shut the portal with the scissors as fast as possible.

"You okay?" Marco asked Alyson quietly.

The girl looked up with teary eyes, and glanced over at Star. "Were they after me?" she asked feebly.

Star shook her head immediately, putting her wand into her purse. "No, of course not. They just want my wand, but Marco and I kicked their butts."

Alyson smiled and slid out of Marco's arms to the ground, picking up the stickers that she had dropped earlier. "You guys were really good at that," she confirmed, standing up straight and looking over at them shyly. "Can I still make a wand?"

Star and Marco looked at one another and grinned. "Of course," Marco said with a laugh.

"Just maybe don't make it exactly like mine," Star decided with a shake of her head. "Wouldn't want the monsters attacking again."

Alyson ducked her head, a tiny smile on her face. "You guys are really cool babysitters," she said softly before pattering out of the room with her sticker sheets clutched tightly to her chest.

Star nudged Marco with a grin. "Still regret taking the babysitting job?"

The sound of dozens of markers hitting the ground and rolling everywhere reached their ears and Marco gave Star a look. "Let me get back to you on that."

* * *

 **Reviews are lovely, I am exhausted, and someone should get me Subway.**


	22. For a Princess

**For a Princess**

 **Technically I could make this into a full length story, and I might later on, but for now have this one shot idea suggested by a guest reviewer who didn't leave a name. It starts right with Star leaving for Mewni.**

 **Ellie: Little kids are great. And I still don't have my Subway :(((**

 **Ghost of Mim: You wouldn't happen to be Mim of starcoforever, would you? Because if so, I am fangirling so hard. Anyway, children are the greatest people on earth, and your niece sounds wonderful. I'm so glad you enjoyed, and I hope your night got better!**

 **ThatDarnGuest: Ooh, parody of "That Darn Cat" on your name. And I like that idea, it's really cute!**

 **Rayfe: Fun fact, Adam MacArthur (the voice of Marco) calls Marco's fans "meatballs."**

 **Watermalone: It's okay, I understand having nights like that. I'm glad you're enjoying them!**

 **Guest: Not sure why a train, but all right.**

 **Thatonefangirl: Still no subway :'(((((( But thank you!**

 **I don't own Star vs. the Forces of Evil.**

* * *

GENERAL POV

* * *

"You can't go!"

Marco held desperately to Star's wrist, tears brimming in his eyes as she stood with one foot in a portal to Mewni. Her eyes were watering badly as she turned back to him. "Marco, I….I don't want to go," she stammered out, her voice cracking. "But I need to be there for the stupid courting battle."

Swallowing hard, Marco moved closer to her. "But it's so stupid," he whispered. "You're only sixteen, you can't….I mean, getting married…."

Star smiled sadly at him. "I'm not getting married yet, Marco. This just….determines who I'll marry in the future. I'll be back by this time on Saturday," she assured him. "My parents promised that I could finish high school here, so it's not like I'm leaving for good."

"But Star-" Marco started to protest.

She cut him off with a shake of her head and a quick hug. "See you, Marco."

With that, she stepped through the portal and it shut too fast for Marco to follow, leaving him Star-less, dimensional scissor-less, and hopeless. At least, until his eyes landed on Star's magic mirror.

With no hesitation, the teen darted over to it and hit the on switch. "Call….call Pony Head," he decided, anxiously shifting his feet and brushing a hand over the neglected stubble on his chin.

The mirror rang twice before the other line picked up and Pony Head appeared. Over the last two years, she had basically turned around St. Olga's so that, while it was no longer a jail, it still helped princesses figure out how to do things like control rioters peacefully, use their wands properly, and fight enemies. Pony Head herself hadn't changed much at all, for which Marco was relieved, though she had stopped calling him Earth Turd on a daily basis.

"Marco?" the princess asked in surprise. "Didn't expect you. What's up?"

"I need your help," Marco pleaded the unicorn, clasping his hands in front of him. "Please, Pony Head."

Pony Head blinked, studying him carefully. She had never seen him so nervous or freaked out, and the fact that he was saying please to her really startled her. "Okay. What do you need?"

* * *

"Remember to sit up straight, Star," Queen Butterfly scolded gently, brushing off the sleeves of Star's courting battle dress. "And don't slouch, or cross your legs, or lean on your elbows, or-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Star grumbled, leaning away from her mother's touch. "Don't act human. Be a thing for all the dumb boys to admire, be a _thing_ for them to _win._ "

She hissed the last words without meaning to and her mother scowled. "Now Star, that's no way for a lady to behave. You know this is an ancient tradition."

"Just like all the guys out there going to battle," Star muttered under her breath, straightening her horns on her head.

With a purse of her lips, her mother reached up and took the horns. "Hey!" Star protested, jumping for them and nearly twisting her ankle in her heels. "Mom, give them back!"

Queen Butterfly smiled sadly. "Sorry, sweetheart. You have to wear your tiara today."

Star groaned but allowed one of the maids to adjust the sparkling silver tiara on her head, leering at herself in the mirror when the maid stepped back. "Mom, I look stupid," she complained, adjusting the bosom of her dress.

It was incredibly tight at the top, her chest pressed so tightly to the cloth that Star could barely breathe. It was like she was wearing a corset meant for a woman with an A-cup. The color of the dress, a dark, nearly navy blue color, did not look good on her in Star's opinion. The skirt cropped in at her knees and flared out in a mermaid cut, and Star wasn't a huge fan of that either. The shoes were the worst; they wobbled and slid and turned under her to the point where she was ready to pitch them out the window and hope they would stab one of the dumb suitors in the eye.

"You look lovely, dear," her mother reassured her, kissing Star's temple. "Now come, the fight starts in fifteen minutes. There are ten suitors, five from surrounding kingdoms, and five who chose to sign up on their own who may or may not be royalty."

Her nose wrinkled up at the idea and Queen Butterfly shook her head. "Hopefully none of them win," she muttered under her breath, steering Star out the door and down the hallway. "Your father is instructing them on the rules now. You won't see any of their faces until the winner is declared, because we don't want you biased to those who may look more handsome. Only your father knows who all of them are."

"Do I get _any_ say in this?" Star moaned as they walked out to the field and took their places in the royalty box.

Queen Butterfly smiled gently. "Of course, dear. You get to pick from the last two standing."

"You mean eight people are going to die?" Star gasped in horror, jumping to her feet and almost breaking her ankle because of the shoes.

"No, no, no," the queen assured her quickly, pushing Star back into her seat. "They are disqualified for poor sportsmanship, failing certain tests, and other various things. We try very hard to send everyone home in one piece."

Star opened her mouth to respond but was cut off by the sound of a horn blowing and gates creaking. The entire kingdom of Mewni sat around the field in bleachers, most of them just there for the entertainment and free food provided by the kingdom.

"Oh, there's your father," Star's mother said, gesturing to the gates.

Her father stood on a platform at the edge of the field, and spoke loudly. The magical barriers that kept the audience safe from flying javelins, swords, and occasional flaming wombat amplified his voice as he spoke (which Star now knew that a microphone could do with way less effort).

"Today," the king boomed out, "ten brave warriors from various kingdoms and cities will fight for the right to marry into our kingdom. The princess may choose from the final two standing, and I will call out any fouls or reasons in which I see fit to disqualify a suitor."

The queen buried her head in her gloved hands. "Oh thank goodness, he's not whistling his s's."

Star bit back a giggle and turned her eyes to the gates as the suitors walked in, fully covered in armor provided by the castle so that they would be indistinguishable to Star. The only difference was that each of them had different colors of horse hair on the top of their helmets.

"In this first round," River declared, stroking his beard and reading from the scroll that a servant held for him, "suitors are asked to perform an obstacle course."

Star frowned as balance beams rose from the ground, pools with crocodiles appeared from nowhere, and climbing walls scattered themselves around the field. "Mom, what if one of them falls into the crocodile pond?" she asked nervously.

"They'll be all right," the queen said with a smile. "The crocodiles are magical, and will not eat anyone or attack. If they do fall though, they will be disqualified."

"How many people are disqualified per round?" Star asked, watching the suitor's line up at the starting line.

"Depends," her mother said with a shrug, dabbing at her lipstick with a tissue. "No more than three or four though."

The starting whistle sounded and the armored men took off, the fastest ones getting to the balance beam that crossed the crocodile pool first and clambering up. As Star watched in slight horror, the suitor with the green haired plume, who was stuck behind the yellow haired one, shoved the yellow plumed suitor off the edge and ran on. The yellow plumed suitor caught the edge and, though he was given many side glances, the next three suitors ran on. Star was afraid that he would fall, until one of the suitors, with a white plume of horsehair on his head stopped to pull the yellow one back onto the beam. He clapped his shoulder and the two ran on, leaving Star to sit back with a sigh of relief.

The group of ten continued without interruption, and when they had all crossed the finish line, the blue haired suitor coming in last, they all stood waiting for the king's decision.

He strolled up to the blue plumed man and smiled sadly. "Sorry, young man," he said. "You must be disqualified. You did wonderfully though."

The blue haired one left with his head held high, the sun glinting on the metal of his helmet as River stormed over to the green plumed suitor. "Disqualified," he snapped.

He turned and left the rest of the eight men there, and the green plumed suitor stomped his way out of the arena.

The next competition involved jousting from the backs of warnicorns, though Star's mother assured her that the ends of the javelins were blunted. Each jouster would go up against every other jouster once, and whoever was knocked from their warnicorns the most would be disqualified.

The round went quickly, and Star kept quiet count in her head of who had fallen off the most. The yellow plumed jouster and the orange haired jouster tied with the most falls, and since no foul play occurred they were the only two eliminated in the round.

Star glanced over the colors left- white, black, purple, brown, pink, and red-and tilted her head as her father announced the next competition, which involved another obstacle course, but this one had various archers shooting at them the whole time.

The black plumed one made it through with little difficulty, using pieces of the obstacle course to deflect the arrows. The next one through, the pink plumed one, was shot almost instantly, and though the arrow was blunted he was still knocked heavily to the ground by the force.

The white plumed one was next, and he tucked and rolled so nimbly that none of the arrows ever came close to hitting him. The purple and brown plumed ones weren't so lucky, and the red one barely dodged getting hit.

With the black, white, and red ones the only ones left, King Butterfly brought out the big ending. "And now, we will have the suitors fighting various monsters that we have captured. Each suitor is allowed to choose one weapon with which to fight, and don't worry, we'll make sure no harm comes to them."

Star frowned slowly as the black and red plumed suitors chose very large, very sharp swords. When the white suitor was gestured over to the king to receive his weapon, he just held up a hand and shook his head. Though everyone in the arena gasped, Star could see that her father wasn't surprised at all.

The black plumed suitor went first, slashing and stabbing at the monster and leaving Star flinching and covering her eyes in the stands. Ever since her alliance with Buff Frog had started two years ago, Star had a hard time physically injuring monsters to the point of death. She would still beat them up if they attacked, of course, but she and Marco had vowed never to kill them unless there was no other choice.

She spun away as the black haired suitor stabbed the monster once again, and plugged her ears as the poor thing died with a scream that haunted the girl to the core.

"Star, honey?" her mother asked softly, putting a hand on her daughters shoulder. "Are you all right?"

Star glanced up to find everyone in the arena watching her carefully, and for some reason her eyes landed on the white plumed soldier, the one who hadn't taken a weapon. She relaxed slowly, and looked over at her father. "Don't kill the next monster," she ordered, her voice stern.

Though her dad looked slightly startled, he nodded to his daughter and looked at the white and red plumed soldiers. The red one stepped up to go next, and though he didn't kill the monster, he did bruise and cut it up to the point that Star knew the poor creature probably wouldn't survive the night.

And then the white haired one was up, and he was facing down a monster three times his size, with massive muscles and bigger fists, horns on his head that were nearly as long as the suitor himself, and a barbed tail. The other two monsters hadn't been nearly as big or deadly, and Star couldn't figure out why her father would give this man, who had no weapon, this particular monster.

Until he started fighting, that is.

He was nimble and fast, his body darting under and around the monster as it lunged for him. He was graceful on his feet, never missing a step, and as he slipped to the back of the monster he grabbed a hold of one of the barbs on the tail. The monster roared in annoyance and whipped his tail up, which seemed to be exactly what the suitor wanted, as he used the momentum to fly into the air and land solidly on the monster's head, tackling the beast to the ground and flipping off of the snout.

With a solid roundhouse kick, the suitor knocked the monster back a good five feet and Star leaped off of her chair, her hands flying to her mouth in surprise because she only knew one person who could hit a monster that hard with only one move.

The suitor glanced up at her once and tilted his head ever so slightly before doing a handspring onto the monsters neck, leaning down and whispering something very softly into the beast's ear. The monster grunted and the white haired suitor pressed two fingers to the animal's neck, easily knocking it unconscious.

The suitor slid off to an arena filled with silence and gaping mouths as they looked to King Butterfly to see the results. The King was smirking ever so slightly as he pronounced that the black suitor was to be disqualified due to his mistreatment of the first beast.

Star was then escorted down to the field and positioned in front of the suitors, with her father on her left and her mother on her right. "All right Star, the final decision is up to you," her father said softly. "You choose which of these two impressed you more."

She studied them both quietly, her gaze continuously shifting to the white plumed one as a soft smile slid across her face. She stepped up to him slowly, tilting her head quizzically and trying not to sink into the dirt with her heels.

Making her decision, Star reached up and slid the helmet from the man's face, the goofiest grin crossing her cheeks as his face was revealed. "Knew it," she whispered, tossing the helmet to the ground and tackling Marco in a hug.

Behind her, Queen Butterfly stammered in horror, turning to her husband only to find him chuckling. "You knew he was in there, and you didn't say anything?" she asked in exasperation.

River nudged her gently. "Honey, look at those two."

Queen Butterfly turned her gaze back to Star and Marco, who were still clinging tightly to one another, and her scowl softened. "I suppose you're right. But Marco, a king?"

River's mustache twitched in amusement. "Something tells me that boy is going to let Star decide in her own time if she actually wants to marry him, and he'll respect whatever she chooses. But yes, I could see him as a king, and a very good one at that."

He turned to the audience and waved his hands. "Princess Butterfly has chosen which suitor she prefers! The rest of you may disperse back to your homes!"

As the crowd thinned out, Star pulled away from Marco with teary eyes. "Marco, why would you do that? You could have been hurt!"

He smiled and swiped a strand of sweaty hair out of his eyes. "I…I didn't want you to be forced to choose your future husband because of some dumb tradition. This way, you can marry whoever you want. I just did it to give you some freedom."

Star stared at him for so long that a blush started growing on his cheeks. "How did you even get here?" she finally asked.

Marco smiled fondly and glanced behind him as Pony Head floated up. "Called in a little help," he admitted.

"Maaaannnn, you _owned_ those jerky suitors!" Pony Head said, head butting Marco's shoulder gently. "Girl, he did this to try and stop the dumb rule your kingdom has about arranged suitors. You better thank this turd."

Marco blushed even more and Star smiled bashfully. "I will. Thank you, Marco. And thanks for bringing him here, Pony Head. I'll be right back guys, I have to go change," she said, glancing over at her handmaiden.

She left and Pony Head raised an eyebrow at Marco. "So? Gonna tell her?"

Marco scoffed. "What, that I like her?"

He watched Star go and leaned over to pick up his helmet, studying it quietly and giving a small sigh. "I can't," he finally said, looking up at Pony Head with a sad smile. "I did this for her, not for me."

Pony Head nodded slowly. "Well for what it's worth, Marco, I think you two will end up together no matter what. You just….you just both have really good chemistry together. I was watching her during the fights, Marco. She knew it was you when she picked you."

Marco's head shot up and he fought back a smile. "She did?"

Pony Head grinned. "Uh, yeah. You do have a one of a kind fighting style compared to these bozos here."

Marco looked towards the castle, clutching his helmet to his chest and taking a deep breath. "True," he admitted, his cheeks heating up a little at the compliment. "But…I'm not even sure she likes me. How do I tell her that? You know, without ruining anything?"

He turned his gaze to Pony Head, who grinned wickedly. "Leave that to me," she decided.

Marco frowned. "What?"

Pony Head spun in the direction of the castle and zoomed off, screaming, "STAAARRRRR! YOU HAVE AN EARTH TURD DOWN HERE WHO HAS A CRUSH ON YOUUUU!"

Marco yelped and stumbled after the horse. "Pony Head!"

As the two darted past the king and queen, Queen Butterfly raised an eyebrow at her husband. "What were you saying about him possibly making a good king?"

River frowned slightly and turned to his wife, his eyes twinkling. "Oh Queen Butterflyyyyyy," he sang impishly. "Someone's got a crush on yoooouuuuu!"

Queen Butterfly bit back a smile. "Oh be quiet, River."

* * *

 **I feel like the king and queen have a really good relationship. Also we don't know Queen Butterfly's name and that annoys me to no end.**

 **Reviews, please!**


	23. Acne

**Acne**

 **Prompt submitted by ThatDarnGuest. This one was kinda fun to write. And DAMN I did not expect the response I got to that last chapter. I literally got like, 23 reviews. That's not normal for me lol. Also to everyone who mentioned this, thank you so much for telling me that her mother's name was Moon! That'll make writing her later on much easier.**

 **Yes this is Mim: Um absolutely yes fangirling I'm frigging blushing because holy bejeezus you've read my other stuff hnnngggg**

 **Guest: THANK YOU FOR BEING AWESOME AND REVIEWING**

 **Calistrophia: Alfonsuson is the second cutest ship in that show aside from Starco. And thanks for the request, but I'm not keen on doing gender bent stories. I find them really confusing and kind of boring tbh. Sorry!**

 **H. Mae: Oh hey I wouldn't have caught that good eye**

 **Ultragamerkitty: asdfkjflkajsdfljs thank you so much I would looovvvveeee to write for svtfoe but I know it'll never happen so this is the next best thing!**

 **Guest: Oooohhhhhhh. Clever.**

 **Watermalone: Lol I tried to make it fairly obvious the white knight was Marco, though there was only so much I could have him doing.**

 **Crystal Persian: I'm always open to hear ideas.**

 **AnimationNut: I did not, sadly, but I did get tacos so I'm pretty satisfied.**

 **I don't own Star vs. the Forces of Evil. Pre-established Starco relationship.**

* * *

GENERAL POV

* * *

Marco Diaz didn't think of himself as a vain person. Sure, he would appreciate it if just every now and again _someone_ would let him know when there was spinach in his teeth so that he didn't walk around all day looking like a doofus, but other than that he was fairly comfortable in his own body.

Until he started dating Star Butterfly.

Sure, Marco knew that she liked him exactly the way he was; hell, she had seen him with a tentacle for an arm, butterfly wings on his head, and at his most insecure. Deep down in his heart, Marco knew that Star didn't care what anyone looked like. She was friends with a floating unicorn head, for God's sake.

But that didn't stop him from making sure that every time he was anywhere near Star his hair was perfect, his clothes were ironed, his teeth were clean, and his face was clear.

So when he woke up on Thursday morning with a face full of acne, Marco couldn't help but want to slam his face into the sink and never come back up.

This wasn't just your average, run of the mill acne, a tiny smattering of blackheads, or one zit on the tip of the nose. No, that Marco could have handled.

No, this was like the chain of inactive volcanoes in Hawaii had sprouted back to life on his face. Blackheads as big as freckles lounged casually on his nose and forehead, and he grimaced when he spotted the white heads scattered across his chin, ready to burst.

Marco shuddered and dug into the back of his medicine cabinet, pulling out the tiny bottle of concealer he kept there for emergencies. It had come in handy after a few fights, when he'd had to cover bruises so that Star wouldn't worry, and he used it every now and again to cover the odd pimple.

Now, though, as Marco dabbed frantically at his face with the concoction, he knew it wouldn't do any good. It almost seemed to emphasize the damn acne, so he grabbed a washcloth and scrubbed the makeup from his face.

Nope. Oh nope. That had made it about ten time's worse, inflaming his face so it looked like he had just run a marathon in the scorching desert heat.

Marco groaned and shook his head. He couldn't let Star see him like this. One or two pimples, he could handle. A face full of acne pizza, reminiscent of his 13 year old self three years ago? Not a chance.

Marco pulled his hoodie up over his head and tightened the strings on it, peeking out the door and running from the house with backpack in hand before Star could see him and ask him to walk to school with her.

He took his bike, pedaling quickly and sliding into homeroom early. Just his luck, he and Star were close in the last name department, so she was in his homeroom class. He kept his head ducked as she walked in and paused at his side.

"Morning, Marco," she said cautiously. "How come you didn't wait for me this morning?"

Marco didn't look up, pretending to be finishing up some homework. "I needed to finish a few things. Sorry, Star."

There was another long pause, but she didn't move. "Do I at least get a kiss or something?" she asked softly, her hands fiddling at the edge of her shirt.

Before Marco could respond, their homeroom teacher snapped. "Miss Butterfly! Please sit down."

Star reluctantly left his side and went to her assigned seat two rows back, and Marco relaxed visibly. As soon as the bell rang he made a break for it, sprinting for the door and thanking whatever deity existed that he and Star only had two classes and lunch together. He didn't sit next to her in either class because of assigned seating arrangements, and he managed to hide out in the boy's bathroom during lunch time.

He biked home the moment he was able to get away from his final class, hoping once again to get home before Star did and hide out in his room.

That didn't work out for him, though, because Star was waiting for him on his bed, wand in hand and fingers clasped around the handle in her lap. "Star!" Marco yelped, looking down at the floor and letting his hair cover his face as much as possible.

She stood quietly and moved in front of him, setting the wand aside and clasping her hands behind her back. "You…you avoided me all day," she murmured.

Marco fidgeted with the sleeves of his hoodie for a moment. "Yeah…sorry."

"Are you breaking up with me?" Star blurted out suddenly, her voice aching.

Marco froze, cursing silently and shutting his eyes. She took his silence as confirmation and a stifled sob broke Marco from his trance. He gently pulled her to him and wrapped her in a hug. "Never," he whispered into her ear, smiling when he felt her relax. "I was just…embarrassed all day. I'm sorry, Star."

"What were you embarrassed about?" Star asked in bewilderment, pulling back from him and brushing a couple of stray tears from her cheeks.

Marco grimaced and lifted his head. "My face," he admitted, blood rushing in his ears as he felt his cheeks heat up. "It's dumb, I know, and I shouldn't have freaked you out like I did."

Star gave a small giggle. "Was that all? Marco, acne isn't very common on Mewni, but it seems to me that everyone on Earth gets it. So why be embarrassed?"

Marco shrugged, shoving his hands into his pockets and glancing away. "I…I thought you'd think it was gross, okay?" he finally said in exasperation.

Star frowned and leaned over, pressing a small kiss to his cheek. "Not a chance," she murmured, hugging him tightly and leaning her head on his shoulder. "You are the handsomest guy in existence Marco, clear face or no."

Marco flushed in embarrassment and sent his girlfriend a grateful smile. "Is that so?" he asked, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing her nose.

Star laughed and nodded. "Absolutely. Besides, they kinda look like constellations. Hey, we could draw on your face with a marker!"

"No."

* * *

 **There's a weird funky thing going on with my ears and I can't hear things normally. So. We'll hope that gets solved. But until then, reviews are wonderful!**


	24. Rain

**Rain**

 **This was inspired by this incredible picture originally on Tumblr that I found on Pintrest of Marco sitting and crying in the rain and I just…..hnnnggg my heart.**

 **ThatDarnGuest: I don't remember much about the movie but I remember that I like it lol. And I'm glad you enjoyed it!**

 **Mim again: My ears are temporarily fixed, and yes, Star would absolutely find a marker against Marco's wishes.**

 **Watermalone: Don't worry, the years will pass. I'm still waiting of course, but they will.**

 **Sparklesona: Well I actually have a story (a little darker) that's kind of about that. But I'll try to address that in this chapter.**

 **I don't own Star vs. the Forces of Evil.**

* * *

GENERAL POV

* * *

"Marco? Are you okay?" Star asked softly, leaning against the back door and peering out into the rainy night. Her breath frosted in the chill evening air and she shivered as the wind blew.

"Yeah," the boy murmured, ducking his head and wrapping his arms tightly around himself. Rain slid down his cheeks and mingled with the tears on his face, warmth intertwining with freezing ice and creating trails on his skin. "I'm fine."

"Really," Star mumbled, moving out next to him and sitting down on the stoop, lifting her umbrella up so that it covered both of them equally. She bumped shoulders with him and glanced sideways at her friend. "Cause it's like almost freezing outside and it's pouring rain…what's wrong?"

Marco sighed and ran his hands through his soaking wet hair, splattering cold rain drops everywhere. "Everything," he choked out, his voice cracking. "Everything. My grades are slipping, and my date with Jackie _sucked_ , and I've almost lost your wand to monsters like four times…I'm a failure, Star."

Star frowned and leaned against Marco heavily, putting her head against his shoulder. "No, you are absolutely not a failure Marco. You are incredible."

Marco spread his hands in exasperation. "Star, I _suck_ at everything these days. I can't even fight without getting hurt anymore."

To prove his point, he rolled up his sopping wet sleeves to reveal a multitude of black and blue bruises scattered across his pale skin. "I…I feel like I can't do anything anymore, Star," he whispered, burying his head in his hands.

"Hey," the girl said, her heart breaking. "C'mere."

She held her arms out and pulled Marco into them, shutting her eyes and letting him breathe as she shuffled the umbrella so that it still covered them. "You'll be okay," she assured him, rubbing his back with her free hand. "I can help."

"How?" he whispered, shaking his head against her shoulder and soaking her shirt sleeve. "You can't fix everything with magic, Star."

She shrugged. "I know. Sometimes you don't need magic though, Marco. Just talk to me."

He hiccuped softly and sniffled. "I just am so tired, Star."

"I know," Star reassured him. "I know. But I'm here for you. I promise."

He fell silent and they sat together, breath frosting in each other's hair and rain pattering down until Mrs. Diaz brought them in for the night, where they curled together for warmth on the sofa until they fell asleep in one another's grasp.

* * *

 **It was short, but I wasn't sure what else to do. Also I got one of my friends into Star vs. the Forces of Evil and she is currently drawing fan art while I write this. YEEE**

 **Reviews?**


	25. Family Reunions and Pigs in Blankets

**Family Reunions and Pigs in Blankets**

 **Really important question at the bottom, so stay tuned! I might extend this chapter if you guys want.**

 **Fvcutie0028: I meant my friend Megan, but YES YOU MUST FINISH IT.**

 **Watermalone: Thanks so much! I'm glad you liked it.**

 **Finnjr63: As of right now, only one request submitted to me. This chapter was on a whim because I was craving food.**

 **Legogamma: That's not weird! It's the same as my fanfiction, pftones3482. Feel free to follow!**

 **I don't own Star vs. the Forces of Evil.**

* * *

GENERAL POV

* * *

"Welcome to the Diaz family reunion!" Marco said in excitement, waving an arm at the backyard of his Aunt Tiana's house.

"Oooooh, look at all the people!" Star exclaimed, clasping her hands in front of her and squealing in delight. "Marco, you _have_ to introduce me to your family."

Marco rubbed the back of his neck. "Hehehe…yeah, maybe later. For now, how about you try a dog in a blanket?" he offered, leading her to a tray filled with the biscuit wrapped hot dogs.

Star yelped in horror. "You _eat_ dogs?" she gasped out, staring at her friend in disgust.

Marco quickly held up his hands. "No, no, no, no way. These aren't actually dogs, Star, we just call them that cause they look like a dog wrapped in a blanket."

Star calmed down and had to agree that Marco was right. She picked one up and hesitantly popped it into her mouth, nodding with approval after a minute. "These are pretty good. So what are they made of, if not dogs?"

Marco glanced down at the hot dogs and gave a puzzled frown. "You know, I'm not really sure."

He looked up at Star with a raised eyebrow and smiled. "Maybe it's best if we don't know," he decided.

She nodded in agreement. "Probably. Okay. Now introduce me to your family!" she demanded, spinning around and strolling towards the first person she saw, his grandmother. Marco darted over to intervene and in seconds found his cheeks pinched between the fingers of the old woman.

It was going to be a _long_ reunion.

* * *

 **Short, but I wanted to put this up so that I could ask you guys a really important favor (also it was cute):**

 **I just entered my story "Fighting for Danville" into a fanfiction story contest on the writing site Inkitt, and if I win there's a chance that I could get published. It would mean so much to me if you guys could go vote for me, and spread the word to your friends. Even if you haven't read the story, it'd mean a ton to me as an author if you guys could support me. My username on the site is TakeOverMidnight, and I kind of really want to win. Thank you guys so much! Here's the link (remove spaces and fix the dotcom, no other way for me to put it in here): www . inkitt dotcom / stories / 29583**

 **Review? And please support?**


	26. Nerd

**Nerd: Prompt from Tumblr. Quick oneshot: who gets off the plane at the airport and who's holding a sign that says "Nerd?"**

 **Fvcutie0028: GET SOME SLEEP. And also family reunions are either great or awful. There is no in between.**

 **Watermalone: Lol Marco's grandmother would** _ **totally**_ **embarrass him in front of Star as payback for being hung up on in Cheer Up Star. And it's all good, I like when people ramble in the review.**

 **JW TS: Never ask what pigs in a blanket are made of. A lesson Marco learned the hard way.**

 **Weatherbug02: Oh Lord I could not write that I would probably go insane.**

 **Thank you to everyone who voted for me! I doubt I'll win but it means a lot. Also I just recently posted a new story called Star vs. the Forces of Marco, so if you're into AUs I'd say go read it.**

 **I don't own Star vs. the Forces of Evil. Takes place 15 years in the future.**

* * *

GENERAL POV

* * *

Marco grabbed his suitcase from the overhead compartment on the plane and fought to make his way out of the interior first, running his way down the ramp as soon as he was free of the claustrophobia inducing people he had just spent eight hours with.

He burst from the exit and scanned the terminal quickly, spotting the red devil horns above everything else. His heart rose to his throat and he squeezed past people quickly, muttering apologies as he stepped on toes and elbowed hips.

He just wanted to see his wife; it had been two weeks since he had been home, courtesy of his job working with impoverished people in other (mainly Spanish speaking) countries.

Marco finally rounded the corner and caught his wife's eye. Star lit up like a Christmas tree and she darted towards him, crushing the man in a hug and effectively smushing her welcome home sign between their bodies and making him drop his bag to the floor in order to pull her closer to him.

"I missed you," Star mumbled against his jacket.

Marco chuckled and pressed a kiss to her scalp. "I missed you too, honey. How's Penny?" he asked, referring to their two year old daughter.

Star pulled away, resting her chin on his chest and staring up at him with a grin. "She's doing great. Misses her daddy. I left her with your mom and dad so she didn't have to spend two hours in an airport."

Marco nodded and then glanced down at the paper sign that Star still had clasped in her hands. "What does the sign say?"

Star flushed violently and immediately crumpled it into a ball. "Nothing," she said, hiding it behind her back.

A smile grew on Marco's face. "Oh really? Then why are you hiding it from me?"

He lunged for it, wrapping an arm around her waist and drawing her to his chest, reaching his other arm over her shoulder and plucking the crumbled sign from her grasp. She squealed, drawing the attention of several passerby's, and Marco backed up as fast as humanly possible, opening the paper and staring at the words written on it.

 _Welcome Home Nerd._

He turned to Star slowly, a laugh twitching on his lips. "You're calling _me_ a nerd?"

She shrugged, crossing her arms and giving him a once over. "I think it fits. Look at it this way: I could have said 'Safe Kid' instead."

Marco lowered his gaze ever so slightly, striding over to her and yanking her to him for a long kiss, clenching the sign back into a ball with one hand. As he broke away, he leaned his forehead against Star's and smirked.

"Think I'm a safe kid, huh?"

She grinned, her blue eyes sparkling deviously. "No. I think you're a nerd."

He laughed loudly, kissing her cheek and wrapping his arms tightly around her in a hug. "Nerd it is," he mumbled into the crook of her neck. "I missed you, Star."

She pushed up onto her tiptoes and kissed his nose. "I know. I missed you too. Ready to go home and see Penny?"

Marco smiled and wrapped an arm tightly around her shoulders, grabbing his bag from where he had dropped it on the ground and steering Star towards the baggage claim. "Of course," he said sincerely.

As he leaned over to pick up his bag when it came around the belt, Star took the moment to whisper in his ear: "Maybe when she goes to bed you can disprove the whole 'safe kid' theory."

He whipped his head around to look at her, his eyes taking in the grin on her cheeks and the twinkle in her eyes. His hands nearly missed the bag as it roved by, and when he had it secured and on the floor, Marco wrapped his fingers around hers tightly and squeezed.

"You're on."

* * *

 **Lol I really like writing heated endings. Not sure why. Maybe because it's fun to lead up to something but not actually put it in the story. Also I really like the name Penny, so their daughter's name is Penny. Marco's hair and Star's eyes….urgh, adorable.**

 **Anyway, reviews are great!**


	27. Penelope Angela Moon Diaz

**Penelope Angela-Moon Diaz**

 **Starco Lover: I'm really glad you've been enjoying these! I aim to please.**

 **Flowersforfanfics: Flowers for Algernon reference with your name? And yeah, I've been binge watching the show** _ **Charmed**_ **and their grandmother's name is Penelope, Penny for short, and I could totally see Star and Marco loving that name.**

 **Ellie: I hope you like this chapter! Penny is a sweetheart. Star's enthusiasm and Marco's generosity and overprotectiveness. I don't have her fight monsters (being two and all) but I did have fun developing her character.**

 **X: Oh my gosh absolutely. Next chapter.**

 **Watermalone: Thank you so much for your support. It means a lot.**

 **IDC1314: Omg if you do end up drawing anything you have to let me know. I don't have an Instagram, but I do have a Tumblr account under the same name (pftones3482).**

 **Ninjablue245: The show is; my brain is not lol.**

 **I don't own Star vs. the Forces of Evil. I'm writing this in the car haha. Various songs in the background, the open road, THE SUN SHINING ON MY SCREEN.**

* * *

GENERAL POV

* * *

"Graaaaaaannnnnnnnnndddddddmaaaaaaaa."

Angie Diaz bit back a smile and peeked into the guest bedroom, Marco's old room, to see her two and a half year old granddaughter sitting on the bed surrounded by various stuffed animals and clutching a blanket to her chest. A tiny pout was on her features and a disgruntled sparkle filled her warm brown eyes.

"Yes, sweetheart?" the woman asked, leaning against the doorjamb.

Penelope Angela-Moon Diaz, Penny to everyone who didn't want to get an angered screech, popped her thumb out of her mouth and looked at her grandmother quizzically. "When are Mommy and Daddy coming back?"

Angie stepped into the room and sat down on the bed, brushing a strand of the girl's honey blonde hair out of her face. "They'll be back after Daddy's flight gets in," she assured the girl. "You remember, he was away for work?"

Penny nodded and twisted the blanket in her hands. "Yeah," she said softly, her eyes hidden under dark lashes. "But Mommy and Daddy hafta scare away the bad monsters 'fore I can sleep."

Angie pursed her lips and kissed the girl on the forehead. "Can I do it tonight for you? They probably won't be back until really late."

"Do you know how?" Penny asked, lifting her doe eyes to Marco's mother.

The woman grinned. "Hey, I lived with your mommy for almost five years. I learned a few things about scaring away the monsters."

Penny's eyes widened and she sat back as Angie began scouring the room, checking the closet and under the bed for monsters before securely fastening the window and flicking on the nightlight. "Is that okay?" she asked quietly, walking back to Penny's side and brushing her hair from her eyes.

The toddler nodded and snuggled down into the bed, blanket to her chest and stuffed animals tumbling to the floor. "Yes. Thank you Grandma," she said happily.

Angie smiled and kissed the girl on the cheek, tucking her into bed and exiting the room as quietly as possible, shutting the door halfway behind her and venturing down the stairs to join her husband on the couch for the evening news.

Penny stared up at the ceiling for a while, attempting to fall asleep. As her eyes drifted to a shut, however, a tiny scratching noise at her window made the girl sit bolt upright in bed, looking from the door to the window and wondering if she should call for her grandmother.

The scratching continued and Penny slid from the coziness of her comforter, dragging her pale purple blanket out of bed with her and clutching it to her mouth as she ventured across the floor to the window.

After several unsuccessful attempts to open the curtains, Penny finally managed to tug it aside enough to see outside.

A scream sat in the back of her throat as she and the monster outside the glass studied each other. His eyes had widened to the size of dinner plates and Penny quickly swallowed her yell, a smile slipping across her face instead of terror.

"Kevin!" the girl squealed, wishing she was tall enough to reach the lock on the window.

The frog monster gave her a small grin and sat back on the windowsill, looking at the girl in confusion. She quickly ran across the room to her father's old desk and, with minimal effort, dragged the chair over until she was able to clamber up onto it and tug the lock out of place on the window.

Kevin smiled and slipped through the window, letting the night chill in with him. He was a bit older than Penny, almost six, but she knew it was only because monster's aged differently than princesses. He wasn't much taller than her, and despite the webbing between his fingers and toes and the fact that he wore boring brown clothes, he was Penny's favorite monster.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, keeping her voice low so that her grandmother wouldn't get mad at her for being awake.

He smiled. "You weren't at home, and I wanted to play, so I took Dad's scissors and came to visit."

Penny shook her head, running her fingers along the silky portion of her blanket. "Kevin, it's my bedtime. Didn't you see it's dark out?"

The monster frowned and glanced out the window sheepishly. "Oh. I'm sorry Penny. Should I go home then?"

"Probably," came a voice from the doorway.

The two spun around to see Star and Marco standing in the doorway, trying to hide the smiles on their faces. "Kevin, you know your dad is gonna get worried if you aren't in your bed," Star pointed out.

"Mommy! Daddy!" Penny shrieked, dropping her blanket and rushing at her father. He scooped her into his arms and nuzzled her stomach as Star moved over to Kevin and knelt.

"Want me to take you home, honey?" she asked, pulling her dimensional scissors from her purse.

Kevin merely nodded, reaching up to cling to Star's hand and waving to Penny. As Star opened the portal, Marco looked over at her. "I'll take Penny home. Tell Buff Frog hi for me, okay?"

Star nodded. "Will do," she assured him, snipping the portal shut behind her.

Penny curled up against her father's shoulder and Marco paused only long enough to grab her blanket off of the floor and tuck it into her grasp. "Penny, you know you shouldn't invite monsters in to play at Grandma and Papa's house. I think they'd get worried if all your monster friends came over to play and they didn't know it."

Penny yawned and nodded. "Mm sorry Daddy," she mumbled into his jacket. "I like Kevin. He's nice."

Marco rolled his eyes and bit back a laugh. "So are all forty seven of his siblings," he muttered fondly before continuing. "I know dear, but Buff Frog worries about them if he doesn't know where they are. Plus, sometimes monsters aren't always friendly."

"I know," the girl whispered sleepily.

Marco smiled as he waved goodnight to his parents and walked over to his and Star's fabulous new minivan, buckling Penny into her car seat and leaning over to kiss her on the forehead.

"Goodnight, princess."

"G'night, Daddy."

* * *

 **Had to throw in Buff Frog. I love him. Literally I stuck my head in my brother's room, asked them to name one of Buff Frog's children, and they immediately said Kevin. So that's where that came from. Also, I decided blonde hair and brown eyes was the way to go on Penny. Yes, her middle names are Star and Marco's mother's names.**

 **Review?**


	28. Confession

**Confession: Prompt suggested by a guest reviewer called "X." Marco to Star. Takes place before Toffee shows up. Character death warning.**

 **Jv2en3: Yeah, I don't think I could write a whole story about them.**

 **MariposaFalls11: To each their own. And honestly my brothers are such doofuses.**

 **FallingNarwhals: Ahem, it was 48, Kevin has 47 siblings. Gawsh. Jk, thanks for reviewing!**

 **Ultramegerkitty: Oh. Oh dear. That is not good. Um. Cleanup on chapter 27?**

 **I don't own Star vs. the Forces of Evil.**

* * *

GENERAL POV

* * *

"Star! No, come on, don't do this to me," Marco pleaded, skidding on his knees next to his best friend and gathering her up in his arms.

The girl swallowed hard and winced at the action. "Did you….get the wand back?"

Marco nodded quickly, tears in his eyes as he held it up for her to see. "Yeah. Yeah I did. Ludo…"

He glanced behind him to see the monsters standing around looking horrified, their gazes directed to a pile of ash in the center of the lawn. Marco turned back to Star and set the wand on the ground. "Ludo won't be going after it anymore."

Star smiled weakly. "Thank you Marco."

He let a hand drift down to her waist, where a massive, bloody gash had sliced its way over her chest and down to her naval, and pulled his fingers away covered in crimson. "We can…we can get you to a hospital," he fumbled, cheeks glistening with tears. "Or I…I could try another spell…."

Star lifted a trembling hand to his face and stroked her thumb across his skin, her gaze holding his. "No…it's okay…"

"But it's _not_ okay," Marco sobbed, grabbing her hand and pressing it to his lips, the taste of copper overwhelming his senses. "It's not okay, Star. Please. I love you."

The girl's blue eyes lit up for a split second before she became dead weight in Marco's arms. Tears streaming down his face, Marco laid her in the grass gently and picked up the wand with trembling fingers, turning to face the monsters behind them.

"Unless you want to die," Marco spat, the wand starting to glow a menacing green color in his hand, "you'll get the hell out of my backyard and never try to steal this again."

The monsters hesitated a second too long, only because none of them had their own dimensional scissors and Ludo's had been destroyed by Marco. The Latino's eyes flashed with rage and he flung his arm out, wand shooting bursts of energy all around him.

The monsters screamed and ducked for cover under various bushes and trees. Marco vaguely realized that he had dropped to his knees, but nothing registered in his head until he heard one of the monsters-most likely Buff Frog-yelling in his ear.

" _Behind you. The wand beams."_

In a daze, Marco turned around, lowering the wand to his side and sinking back on his heels. The beams that had come from the wand had swirled around the prone form of Star Butterfly, and as Marco watched they lifted her into the air and spun around her, healing the gash in her side in seconds and bringing color back to her face.

As the beams settled her to the ground on her knees, her eyes fluttered open and focused instantly on Marco, who was staring at her in disbelief. The monsters behind them had gone silent, in complete awe of what they had just witnessed.

"Marco…" she murmured, pressing a hand to her forehead. "You…"

"Star," Marco breathed. He dropped the wand to the grass and leapt at her, pulling her into a tight hug and burying his head in his shoulder. "You're okay."

Star sent a warning glare to the monsters not to touch her wand, but none of them made any moves towards it, still looking on in stunned silence. "Yeah," she whispered into his ear. "Because of you."

"Me?" Marco echoed in confusion, pulling back and looking at her.

Star nodded, glancing down at her blood stained fingers with a frown. "Yeah. You. The wand responds best to emotion, and you…."

She trailed off, blushing furiously and looking down at the grass. Marco almost asked what she had been going to say when what he had told her only moments ago flashed across his brain and he froze, his cheeks heating up. "Oh," he managed to get out. "Star, I-"

Star leaned up and pressed a gentle kiss to his cheek, letting their heads rest together for a moment before pulling back. "It's okay," she assured him softly, lifting her eyes to meet his. "I…I feel the same."

Marco's heart fluttered in his chest and a smile twitched on his lips. "Really?"

She gave him a nervous grin and Marco instantly leaned over, grabbing her firmly by the biceps and pulling her into a long, earnest kiss, his heart hammering the entire time.

The monsters behind them all coughed and muttered silently, looking away, and Star broke the kiss to look over at them, noticing for the first time that Ludo was nowhere in sight. One glance at Marco and she had her answer, and she turned back to the monsters. "Don't have scissors?" she asked softly.

They shook their heads and Star pulled hers out, snipping open a portal for them. "No more wand snatching, okay guys?" she offered.

The vast majority nodded and murmured their agreement, stepping through the portal without another word. Star zipped up the dimension and turned back to Marco, who was watching her anxiously.

"So…." Star started slowly, not sure where to go. She twiddled her fingers together and lifted her eyes to meet his. "You love me, huh?"

Marco's face turned beet red and he started stammering madly, making Star giggle and walk over to him. She slid her arms tightly around his waist and leaned against his chest, shutting her eyes and listening to his pounding heart. "It's okay," she mumbled into his shirt, relaxing as he wrapped his arms around her upper back. "I love you too."

They remained silent for a moment, standing in Marco's backyard holding each other and letting it sink in just how close they had come to losing each other.

"Thank you for saving me," Star whispered hoarsely, her voice cracking.

Marco pressed a soft kiss to her scalp, shutting his eyes and running his fingers through her hair. "Thank you for giving me something to fight for."

* * *

 **I gotta stop writing death scenarios. Anywho. I just ate four Laffy Taffy's. I have an addiction. Someone send me sixty.**

 **Reviews? Laffy Taffy? BOTH?**


	29. Towels

**Towels: Based on a thing that legitimately just happened to me oh my god I'm blushing so hard holy crap. AU**

 **Oopsidied: Hey, it could have been Star. I asked one of my friends which one should be dying and she picked. I like angst.**

 **Guest: Well it's really easy. Just go up to the top corner where it says "Login/Sign Up," click sign up, and follow the instructions. And I'm really glad that you're enjoying!**

 **X: Idk what that means, but YAY!**

 **Fvcutie0028: I feel that.**

 **MentallyScreaming: Yay! Your username accurately describes my life.**

 **Finnjr63: If there isn't a little cliché, is it really a series of one shots?**

 **Ultragamerkitty: I love torturing my readers….it's gonna come back to haunt me one day, I just know it.**

 **Guest: No, no, no, I'm only free on the first of Octember (bonus if you know what that means).**

 **SophieRosey2001: Oh my gosh I've been memed.**

 **I don't own Star vs. the Forces of Evil.**

* * *

GENERAL POV

* * *

It hadn't been a good day for Star Butterfly. First she failed her history test, then her flip flops snapped, and then, to top it all off, she had lost her favorite headband somewhere in the confines of her tiny dorm room.

All in all, Star just wanted to take her burrito and her iced coffee upstairs, scarf them down to the point where her body hurt, and then collapse under her covers and sleep for two hundred years.

She sighed and swiped her key card through the slot outside of her dorm hall, yanking open the stubborn door and wincing as it slammed shut behind her before she started slowly down the first floor boy's hallway, her gaze lowered to the carpet.

"Psssst!"

Star whipped her head up and locked eyes with the male student who was poking his head out of the boy's bathroom, his light brown eyes shining in the harsh restroom lighting.

She had seen him around a few times; his name was Mark or something like that. He was fairly attractive to be perfectly honest, but Star wasn't really in the mood to speak to anyone that night. "Yeah?" she asked, slowing to a crawl and tightening her fingers ever so slightly around her coffee.

"Are you alone?" he asked anxiously, his eyes darting to the space behind her.

Star pursed her lips ever so slightly, glancing down at her slowly growing cold burrito. "Yeah, why?"

"Wanna do me a favor?"

Star almost groaned. Horny guys on college campuses were the absolute _worst_. If this guy asked her to so much as even look at his-

"I left my towel in my room, and I really need someone to cover me while I go and get it," he continued, his eyes pleading with her.

Against her own will, Star's eyes shot down to the boy's midsection, her cheeks flushing bright red as she saw that he was covering himself with nothing more than a pale gray t-shirt. "I uh….sure, okay."

He sighed in relief, looked down the hallway again, and then exited the bathroom, staying behind Star the whole way and clinging to his shirt. "Thank you so much," he gasped out when he reached his room.

She turned back to glance at him, and he ducked into his room quickly, popping his head back out to smile at her gratefully. "I really owe you one."

A snort bubbled out from her mouth before she could stop it, and Star finally started grinning. "I'd say you owe me more than one," she declared, her eyebrows raising.

He gave her a bright smile and leaned his cheek against his doorjamb. "Well, if you think of how I can possibly repay you, you know where I live. And my name's Marco, by the way."

"Star," she said with a nod and another chuckle. "And I already know what you can do."

His eyebrows furrowed ever so slightly and Star lifted her coffee bottle so that he could see it. "Coffee tomorrow? Maybe cookies?"

A relaxed grin eased across his cheeks and Marco nodded, slipping further into the confines of his room. "Yeah. Yeah, that'd be great. Thank you so much again, Star."

Star tipped an imaginary hat and continued on her way to her room, burrito almost entirely forgotten as she tried to figure out just what in the world she was going to tell her friends about what had just happened.

The night had just gotten a lot better.

* * *

 **So yeah, up until the "I really owe you one" line, all of this happened to me. Every. Single. Bit. Except I didn't lose a headband in my room. Anyhow.**

 **I'm about to post a SVTFOE and HTTYD crossover for my friend Megan's birthday tomorrow, and it would be really nice if I could get some feedback before I send it to her.**

 **Thanks, and reviews are much appreciated!**


	30. Proposal

**Proposal: I know someone suggested something for this chapter, but I answered a question thing on Tumblr yesterday that really inspired me to write this. I think you can tell from the title where this is going.**

 **EVAunit42: Literally there are some stories that I wouldn't believe myself if I hadn't been there. College is weird, man.**

 **Guest: Hiiiiiii I'm really sorry, this was such a cute idea but I had like,** _ **no**_ **idea what to write for it. I'm sooooo sorry.**

 **Jazzymama11jw: Yes, it did happen. It was insane.**

 **Bing Bong: I totally would, but I keeping this strictly SVTFOE.**

 **I don't own Star vs. the Forces of Evil. Pretend Toffee never happened, and Star and Marco are about 21.**

* * *

GENERAL POV

* * *

Star's wand clashed up against a stick that one of Ludo's monsters had picked up from the ground and she chuckled as she pushed the creature to the ground with ease. "Come on, Ludo. Aren't you getting a little old to be sending monsters after me and Marco?"

Marco, who was across the yard, snorted as he brought a monster the size of a truck to the ground with nothing more than his right arm. "Right? You'd think he would have given up when we graduated high school."

Ludo grumbled in anger as he took in the sight of his monsters, all lying defeated on the grass of Marco's backyard. "Whatever," he snapped. "You think you're all that, Star Butterfly."

She raised her eyebrow ever so slightly and casually zapped him with a narwhal, sending him sprawling to the ground. "Newsflash, Ludo: I kind of am."

Marco sauntered over to his girlfriend with a grin, turning around only briefly to hit another monster that had been sneaking up behind him. It groaned and limped quietly towards the portal that Ludo had opened up.

As Marco turned towards Star again, he swiveled to land on one knee, ducking his head and pressing his hands to his jacket pocket.

For the briefest second, Star was terrified. She thought that he had been stabbed from behind or that he had been injured during the fight. But when he looked up, there was a nervous smile on his lips and a tiny black box in his hands.

As the monsters paused in their fleeing, Marco cracked open the box to reveal a sparkling engagement ring, surrounded by tiny pink gems that caught the remaining sunlight and scattered rainbows across his face.

Star's hands flew to her lips and her breath caught in her throat as Marco swallowed. "Star, we've been friends for….a really long time. And I can't imagine meeting or being with anyone else for the rest of my life. Will you marry me?"

All of the monsters behind them awed as they watched the sight, but Marco kept his gaze on Star. Her knees wobbled and she took several trembling steps over to him, dropping to the ground and tackling him in a hug.

"Of course," she whispered.

He slipped the ring onto her finger slowly and tugged her in for a kiss, and nothing in the world could have been more perfect.

* * *

 **Y'all don't know how tempted I was to end this with "Now all Star had to do was figure out how to tell Marco she was pregnant" but I decided not to lol.**

 **Reviews?**


	31. Halloween

**Halloween**

 **Kinda sad that I didn't end it like I said…..sorry this update took so long. I've been soooooo busy this last week with all of these Halloween things that I've been doing (if you wanna see my mermaid costume, I've posted pictures on my tumblr pftones3482. I look really hot, just fyi)**

 **Legogamma: I'll see what I can do!**

 **Deadshoot12345: Oh my**

 **King of France: Omg I didn't even realize that I made a Kim Possible reference! When I was writing it I had this weird feeling I had seen those words somewhere before.**

 **Guest: Oh gosh no it's okay I'm just happy you were polite about it!**

 **Weatherbug02: Awww I bet she looked adorable.**

 **Guest: I'm glad you like my writing!**

 **Skippy: Thank you so much! Hopefully I can actually publish a book one day…..kinda my dream.**

 **X: I'll see what I can do about that one.**

 **I don't own Star vs. the Forces of Evil.**

* * *

GENERAL POV

* * *

"You mean you get _free_ candy one day every year?" Star gushed in excitement. "Just for dressing up in a costume?"

Marco barely glanced up from his math homework. "Yeah, but it's kind of for little kids. People don't really appreciate teenagers trick-or-treating."

Star grabbed at his arm, her eyes shining. "Oh come on, Marco, please?"

He lifted his eyes to look at her and found her staring at him with her lower lip stuck out and her eyes big and sad. A smile twitched on his face and he shook his head. "Oh, all right. But it's tomorrow, so you're going to have to get a costume quickly."

She jumped to her feet and yanked her wand from her pocket, twirling it around her fingers. "No problemo."

Marco smirked. "Come on Star, magic to make a costume? All the fun of Halloween is making a costume by yourself. Even the people who buy their costumes at a store make some parts of it."

Star frowned ever so slightly. "Huh. That seems dumb, but okay…."

Marco chuckled and turned back to his math book, leaving Star to chew on the edge of her wand in contemplation.

* * *

The day flew by, and when Marco saw what Star had managed to pull together in barely twenty four hours, he was flabbergasted.

She descended the stairs with absolute grace, her body draped with a deep lilac and cream colored dress that moved like silken water over her shoulders and hips. Sparkling purple wings protruded from her shoulder blades and her hair was teased and pulled up so that it framed her face, strands dangling down her back. Her eyes were haunting, surrounded by lilac eye-shadow and sparkling stick-on flowers. Her wand was clasped in her right hand, transformed to look like a flower with a butterfly perched on top, the usual hearts on her cheeks had changed to deep purple butterflies, and it took Marco almost a full minute to regain his voice.

"I uh….you uh….um…wow," he managed to stammer out.

Star giggled softly, swiping a strand of hair from her face. "You like it?"

Marco shook his head in disbelief. "How…? And your wings…?"

Star blushed furiously, ducking her head. "They've been growing out a lot lately….I thought it would be dumb to coop them up on Halloween. So I decided to go as a fairy….is it…is it okay?"

Marco swallowed hard, feeling like his entire body was on fire. "Y-yeah. Wow."

Star smiled and then tilted her head. "But where's your costume? Doesn't trick-or-treating start soon?"

Marco nodded and glanced down at himself. He had put on his karate uniform as a last resort, but standing next to Star, he suddenly felt incredibly inadequate. "I…yeah. I'll go put it on. Ferguson called too, invited us to a party at his place later…if you want."

Star's face lit up. "Of course! Hurry up, silly!"

Marco took the steps two at a time and flung his door open, scanning his room anxiously. He dug into his closet and grinned, ripping off his uniform and pulling on his next attempt at a costume.

* * *

Star paced the first floor quietly, occasionally brushing hair away from her eyes. When she heard footsteps on the landing, she sighed in relief and turned to look at Marco. "Took you long e-"

Her voice cut out abruptly as he skipped down the stairs, black dress shoes shining under the living room light. Her eyes traveled up his body, adorned in a tuxedo, grazing over the fake gun clipped at his side, and rose to his face, where sunglasses hid his eyes. "What…?"

Marco grinned and sauntered over, pulling the glasses from his face and tucking them in his suit pocket. He swept his body into a bow, taking Star's hand in his and pressing a kiss to the back of it. "Diaz," he said mischievously, looking up with a cocky smile. "Marco Diaz. At your service, milady."

Star furiously tried to hide the blush on her cheeks, pulling her hand away from his grasp quickly. "R-right," she stammered, clutching at her wand and looking anywhere but at Marco, who was _way_ too cute for his own good in a tux. "Let's go, then."

She sped out of the house ahead of him, leaving Marco to chuckle, slide the shades back onto his nose, and dart after her.

* * *

The trick-or-treating went quickly, if only because Star was so eager to get candy that they practically ran. Marco did have to stop and explain that the monsters roaming the streets were not, in fact, Ludo's minions, especially after she set some second graders alien antennae on fire.

When they finally got to Ferguson's party, they were loaded down with candy and Star was carrying her heels in one hand. Marco had both bags of candy, and he used his foot to knock on Ferguson's door.

It was answered by Santa Clause, big white beard and all, and Ferguson's eyes twinkled out at them from behind the getup. "Hey guys! You look great! Come on in," he offered, stepping aside and gesturing in.

Music pounded through the house, which was crowded with multiple kids from school. Frankly, Marco was surprised that this many people had shown up, but Ferguson had his ways. He and Star left their bags of candy and Marco's suit jacket in the dining room with everyone else's coats and then joined the group of partiers.

"What do you want to do?" Marco called over the music, turning to look at Star as he rolled his sleeves up to the elbows.

Star stared at him for a second, her cheeks growing warm, and then turned her gaze to the rest of the room. "Uhhh….want to go grab something to eat?" she yelled back.

Marco grinned and ran a hand through his hair, mussing it up even more than usual and sending chills down Star's spine. "Sure!"

They weaved their way around their classmates, complimenting costumes and getting compliments right back, making it to the kitchen with little incident.

The music was noticeably quieter in the kitchen, and Star and Marco took their time gathering plates of finger cookies and green deviled eggs (Marco had to reassure her that they weren't real fingers before she would even touch them).

They stayed in the kitchen for a bit, munching and sitting in a comfortable silence, each of them eyeing the other at various intervals. When Marco finally got up to throw away his plate, he took a second to stretch and gaze out the window.

Star's mouth went positively dry as his shirt was tugged from his waistband and she stood without thinking, striding over to Marco with determination. He noticed her approach and lowered his arms, frowning. "Star? Is something wr-?"

His words broke off as she came within an inch of his nose, his back pressed against the sink and their torsos pushed together. "Star?" he choked out, his voice cracking nervously.

Star blinked and backed up quickly. "I uh…thought I saw um…"

A sly smile slid across Marco's lips and he reached out, grabbing her wrist and pulling her back against him, wrapping his other arm around her waist and teasing at the base of her wings with a thumb. "What did you think you saw?" he asked quietly, leaning closer to her.

Star shivered and swallowed hard. "I saw….saw….oh god, shut up and kiss me."

Marco obliged, attacking her lips with a ferocity neither had felt before and then slowing down into something more sensuous as they relaxed against each other. Star's wings fluttered in delight and Marco caressed a soft hand over her cheek.

When they broke apart several seconds later, cheeks flushed, Marco gave a soft laugh. "I've wanted to do that all night," he admitted, leaning his forehead against hers.

Star grinned. "Me too. You are really hot in a tux."

Marco's eyebrows shot up in surprise and he smirked a little. "Yeah, well, that dress looks really freaking good on you."

Star slid her arms up around his neck and leaned her head on his shoulder. "You wanna go back to the party?" she mumbled into his ear.

Marco glanced back over his shoulder and pursed his lips. "Kind of. We did come here to mingle."

"And to get candy," Star reminded him, tilting her head to look at his face.

Marco chuckled and drew her back to his lips, pressing delicate kisses to her skin. "That too," he agreed, sending chills throughout her body. "Speaking of, how did you like your first Halloween?"

Star pulled away from him slightly and smiled, her eyes twinkling and her lipstick smudged. She reached a thumb up to brush the excess from Marco's lips and chuckled. "I like it. I could've gotten more candy though."

Marco let out a guffaw and shook his head. "You have like, enough to feed the Navy!"

Star giggled and they glanced to the door as Ferguson aka Santa poked his head into the room, taking in the sight of their positions and grinning. "Oh good, you two finally got together," he deduced. "Alfonso owes me twenty bucks. Also, my Mom is starting caramel apples in the living room if you want some."

He ducked out and Star and Marco looked at one another in surprise.

"Twenty bucks?" Marco said in disbelief.

"Caramel apples?" Star wondered.

They looked back at the kitchen door, back at each other, and then back at the door. With synchronized steps they darted for the living room, intent on getting their hands on Santa for two very different reasons.

" _FERGUSON!"_

* * *

 **Ferguson, you're dead. I'm into so many cartoons right now; I just got into Miraculous Ladybug, so now I have another cartoon to cry over (and probably write for).**

… **.I want pizza.**

 **Review, s'il vous plait, and happy Halloween!**


	32. Thieves

**Thieves: AU Prompt. Your otp as thieves. Marco and Star are in their twenties; established relationship and a bit of adult flirting.**

 **Ultragamerkitty: UM HI YES I HAVE LEARNED LIKE THREE QUARTERS OF THE FRENCH THEME SONG AND HAVE THE ENGLISH ONE MEMORIZED THIS IS ALMOST WORSE THAN WHEN I WAS SUCKED INTO THIS SHOW.**

 **A certain Ghost: Omg Mim I love you. I probably would have watched the show sooner if I had had free time. And thank you, I quite enjoyed my costume!**

 **Guest: I have sold my soul to so many cartoon shows and characters (and Percy Jackson) that quite frankly I'm not sure where it is anymore.**

 **Rayfe: Yeah, it started out that way and then I kindaaaaa got carried away with the Starco. Blame LadyNoir.**

 **Meika-Rei Z: Hmmmm I'll definitely give that one a shot! Thank you!**

 **Imaginativegoodytwoshoes: Omg I didn't even notice that.**

 **Weatherbug02: *is blushing***

 **SnowyDawn17: Call it what it is. It's totally a cult. Also, if you (and anyone else) wanted to know, I did just post a Miraculous Ladybug story last night called Kisses!**

 **I don't own Star vs. the Forces of Evil.**

* * *

GENERAL POV

* * *

"Okay," Marco murmured softly, leaning over Star's shoulder to point into the museum. "So the jewels are heavily guarded by lasers and an intricate alarm system. I should be able to get around the beams without much of a problem, as long as you keep the light on the beams. We'll work on the alarm once we get over there. Got it?"

The girl yawned and adjusted the mask adorning her eyes, leaning casually against the wall. "Yeah, yeah, I gotcha Diaz. Go get the jewels already, will you?"

Marco gave her a glower and straightened out his gloves, narrowing his eyes at the room in front of them and settling his gaze on the crown jewels in the middle of the room. "Light?"

Star pulled out the specialized light from her bag and clicked it on, revealing dozens of lasers crisscrossing over one another.

Marco bounced lightly on his toes and then took a flying leap, soaring perfectly over the first set of lasers and landing in a somersault on the floor, coming to a kneeling halt a mere three inches from the next laser.

Star chuckled and expanded the arc of the light in her hand, crossing one ankle over the other. "Hot damn, Diaz, that was some sexy tumbling."

Marco shot her a grin over his shoulder and instantly dropped to his stomach, shimmying his way underneath the laser closest to him, standing when he reached a safe position on the other side. He backed up as far as possible and then ran and leapt into the air, tumbling over the laser and doing a perfect handspring over the next.

Star made a clicking noise with her tongue and shook her head. "Diaz, let me tell you, you look really hot in black. Come on babe, ten more feet!"

Marco scoffed and waited for Star to adjust the light again, pursing his lips as he studied his next move.

Using his years of karate and gymnastics training, Marco bent completely backwards at the knees, letting his hands catch him as he fell, and he crab walked under the next laser. Using his position to his advantage, Marco pushed backwards on his hands and shoved his body upwards, arching over the last laser standing in his way and landing on the steps that led to the jewels.

He turned to Star, a smirk on his face and his chest heaving. "Well, Butterfly? How'd I do?"

Star twitched her nose slightly and tilted her head. "Pretty damn good, I must say. But I think I can one up you."

With that, she slapped her hand against the switch on the wall and Marco's jaw dropped as the lasers flickered out of sight and Star sauntered across the room with ease, a mischievous grin on her cheeks.

"You little…"

Star snorted and dipped him into a kiss, sending him into silence. "Shut it, Diaz," she murmured as she pulled away. "We got a job to do."

* * *

 **The idea of criminal Star and Marco kind of makes me really happy. Idk.**

 **Reviews?**


	33. Broken

**Broken. Prompt kinda submitted by X, but I switched it up a tad. Takes place at the end of Storm the Castle.**

 **I now have three Miraculous Ladybug stories out….I have a problem, you guys.**

 **Finnjr63: Nothing worse lol. Nope.**

 **MariposaFalls11: I literally only used the word twice? And it was the best word to use in both cases? Tbh if you ever met me you'd be shocked because I swear my mouth off all the time. I have a sailor's mouth, it's bad. But with Star, even in an AU, I can't see her dropping an F bomb casually. Plus I try to keep my content at a comfortable level for most readers, and damn is one of the milder swear words.**

 **I don't own Star vs. the Forces of Evil.**

* * *

GENERAL POV

* * *

She stared silently, her chest filled with pain, her gaze never leaving the wand at the bottom of the crater. Vaguely she heard Marco step up beside her, his breath hitching in his throat as he spotted what she was looking at.

"Star…" he whispered softly.

Letting him get no further in the sentence, she turned to him and they wrapped one another in the tightest hug either had ever given, their heartbeats pounding together and their hands gripping at one another in a sign of solidarity.

"It'll be okay," he said into her ear, his voice hushed. "You'll get your magic back."

She pulled away from his body and slid down into the ditch, stumbling over to her family heirloom and dropping to her knees next to it. The silt sifted around her fingers as she pulled the wand from the ground, dust filling the air and making her eyes water.

At least, she was blaming it on the dust.

Marco was behind her; she could feel him there, leaning all of his support on her as she traced a single finger over the broken star on the cover of her wand.

"What do I do now?" she asked him hoarsely, leaning back against his chest and letting him wrap his arms around her. "What do I do….now that my magic is gone?"

Marco pressed the faintest of kisses to her scalp, his voice hushed as he spoke. "You go on," he said calmly. "You go on, and you be just incredible as you've always been. You don't need your magic for that."

She clutched the wand to her chest, tears sliding down her dust covered cheeks. They sat like that for what felt like forever, in a barren wasteland, clutching a broken wand and clinging to broken dreams.


	34. Battleships

**Battleships: Based on the song** _ **Battleships**_ **by Daughtry. If anything is spelled incorrectly or is worded weirdly, I apologize.**

 **BookWorm2the2ndPower: Omg you must go watch it is soooo good.**

 **X: Hooray!**

 **Flowersforfanfics: Thank you so much!**

 **MariposaFalls11: Nah, no worries.**

 **TeenMedium: I'm just really good at putting other people's feelings into perspective. Now if only I could do that with my own feelings….**

 **Guest: Hmmm. I might do that in a later one. It's a good idea, though!**

 **I don't own Star vs. the Forces of Evil.**

* * *

GENERAL POV

* * *

Star hesitated, the hand raised to knock on Marco's door faltering for just a moment before she worked up the courage to rap her knuckles against the wood, her eyes stinging with unshed tears.

"Marco?" she whispered, pressing her forehead to the door. "I…I'm sorry. Can…can you please open the door?"

There was no response and Star finally felt her chin quiver as the tears built up and slipped down her cheeks. "Marco please," she pleaded. "I don't want…I don't want to fight anymore. Please, just…I'm sorry."

The door opened underneath her and Star stumbled forwards, feeling warm fingers clasp her shoulders to keep her from falling. She looked up at Marco and his frown softened as he saw the puffiness of her eyes.

"Please," Star choked out again. "I need you to talk to me. I know it was my fault that Ludo got so close, and I'm so sorry that you got hurt. But _please_ , Marco…I'm sinking okay?"

She shivered and sank to the ground, wrapping her arms around herself. "I'm sinking and I need you," she mumbled, her voice cracking. "I'm sorry."

Without a word, Marco knelt down next to her and pulled her into a hug, pressing a kiss to her temple. "I'm here," he whispered to her, shutting his eyes. "No matter how much we fight, Star, I'm here. I love you too much to not be."

She swallowed and tugged him towards her to press her lips to his, her shaking fingers reaching up to caress his cheeks and entangle in his hair. "I love you, Marco."

He smiled against her, pressing his hand to the back of her head and drawing her into a much tighter hug. She clutched at his hoodie desperately and they sat there for a long moment before she spoke again. "Is it…is it okay? That we've fought?" she clarified softly.

Marco nodded slowly, gently stroking her back. "Yeah. Every couple does."

She seemed to calm down at that and pulled away slowly, studying him with teary eyes. "Okay. But I don't want to fight anymore. No matter…no matter how hard it gets."

Marco nodded, bringing a hand up to stroke her cheek. "I can't promise that," he said apologetically. "But I can promise that no matter what happens, no matter how bad the fight, I will always love you."

Star giggled shakily and pulled him in for another kiss, this one light and on the tip of his nose. "Thank you, Marco."

He smiled and gathered her into his arms, holding her tightly and shutting his eyes as they relaxed against each other in the doorway.

"Anytime, Princess."

* * *

 **Remember to pray for the people in Baghdad, Beirut, and Paris tonight. They could all really use it, and my heart goes out to them.**

 **Reviews? Let me know if there's anything I drastically need to fix.**


	35. Doggy Dog Days

**Doggy Dog Days: This was a prompt given to me by a guest reviewer from the last chapter. Sorry it's been a bit since I updated, been kinda stressed out.**

 **SuperShootingStar: Thank you so much! I'm glad you like my stories, and don't worry about making characters OOC. It happens to everyone at first while getting used to writing for them. Also, your English is incredibly good (better than some of my friends who speak English as a first language!). There is a Tumblr page called mlsubbing (that's a lowercase L) that has all of the episodes subtitled in English, and I think a few in Spanish as well.**

 **Kolapez: It's okay, I'm writing these instead of doing homework.**

 **TeenMedium: Thank you! Compliments like that always make my day :)**

 **Guest: Hope you like!**

 **Twiflutterdazzle: Coming up, next chapter! (you like the angst, don't you?)**

 **I don't own Star vs. the Forces of Evil. Before Toffee shows up.**

* * *

GENERAL POV

* * *

"So tell me again," Alfonso said, his pointer finger and thumb squeezing at the bridge of his nose, "how you managed to turn Marco into a dog and then _lose_ him?"

Star threw her hands in the air and paced the Diaz's living room in front of Ferguson and Alfonso. "It was just a dumb spell to feed the laser puppies!" she protested. "I didn't mean for it to go so wrong!"

The three of them glanced over at the laser puppies, who were munching contently on some kibble that Star had found under the cupboard (right where Marco had said it was in the first place, but of course she had to go and do the spell anyway).

"Yeah, okay, but how do we get Marco back?" Ferguson asked. "Is he still human on the inside? Can he communicate with us?"

Star groaned and flopped face first onto the floor. "I hab thno idea," she grumbled into the carpet.

"Well, then we must think like a dog would," said Alfonso with a shrug, leaning over to pry Star off the carpet by her shoulders. "We don't want him getting taken to a pound."

Star leapt to her feet, hands pressing to her cheeks in horror. "Do you think he would?" she gasped out.

Ferguson wobbled his hand in a "maybe" gesture. "Possibly," he confirmed. "Without tags on, he's way more likely to be tagged as a stray. Happened to my cousin Gertrude once."

Star and Alfonso just stared at Ferguson for a moment as he gazed off fondly into the distance, before snapping back to reality and getting up from the couch. "We should start in the park," he decided, leading the other two out the door. "That's where they found Gertrude."

"Any idea who he's talking about?" Star asked Alfonso quietly.

The boy just shrugged, and the three broke into a run, headed for the park that was near the school. Upon getting there, Alfonso suggested that they split up to cover more ground, and they each took off, whistling and calling for Marco at the top of their lungs.

"Marco!" Star cried desperately, bent over at the waist as she ran so that she could look underneath bushes and benches and play areas as she passed.

"Well, well, well, Star Butterfly," came a screeching voice from behind her.

Star groaned and turned around to find Ludo and his monsters behind her, and she crossed her arms over her chest. "Ludo, I don't have time for this. I'm looking for Marco."

Ludo frowned, scratching at his head. "Marco….Marco….who's Marco?"

"The karate boy," Buff Frog clarified for the smaller monster.

Ludo grinned wickedly. "Oh, good! If he's not here, then it will be so much easier to get that wand! Boys, get her!"

Star rolled her eyes and began blasting at the monsters without a second thought, still calling for Marco between lasers.

However, she soon realized with a moment of dread that Ludo was right; without Marco, she had gotten pretty bad at fighting on her own, at least out in the open where monsters could sneak up on her and she didn't have her partner to have her back.

The monsters overwhelmed her faster than Star would like to admit, and she was backed up against the tree before she knew it, holding the wand out and blasting it as quickly as possible.

With one swift move, she was tackled to the ground by the giraffe headed monster, Man Arm. The wand slipped from her fingers and hit the grass with a soft thump, and Star yelped, struggling to get away and grab it.

"Haha!" Ludo shrieked, jumping over and on top of monsters to get to the wand. "It's mine! It's finally mine!"

Just as his hand reached for it, the wand was swept up in a blur of dark brown hair, and suddenly Ludo found himself staring up at an incredibly large Brazilian Mastiff with the most intelligent caramel eyes, ones that held just a glint of mischief. The wand was clasped ever so delicately in his large mouth, teeth barely making an indent on it.

"Nice doggy," Ludo tried slowly, holding his hands up. "Give me the wand and-"

As Ludo reached his hand out, the dog growled fiercely, his lips curling back, and Ludo backed away. The dog immediately settled down and trotted straight over to Star, snarling at any monster that tried to coax the wand away from him.

When he reached Star, he ever so carefully dropped the wand in the grass next to her hand, meeting her gaze long enough for a grin to cross her cheeks, and then he tackled Man Arm off of her, rolling across the grass with the monster as Star got to her feet and started shooting again.

The dog-which Star knew was Marco-was incredibly effective at scaring off the rest of the monsters. One flash of his teeth had the entire group cowering behind Ludo, save for Buff Frog, who had backed out of the fight the second he recognized that the dog was actually Marco (he was the only monster who had put two and two together).

Marco trotted up to Star's side and gave the monsters a sly grin, his eyes sparkling as Star finished them off with a wave of miniature laser puppies. They retreated faster than expected, tiny dogs gnawing on their ears and arms and clothing as they did so.

The moment they were gone, Star knelt next to Marco and buried her fingers in his short fur, pulling him into a hug. "Thank goodness," she breathed. "I didn't think we'd find you!"

Marco chuffed softly, giving her cheek a lick before backing away and tilting his head curiously. Star got back up and gestured behind her. "Ferguson and Alfonso are around here somewhere. We split up, though."

Canine Marco woofed and pressed his nose to the ground, snuffling at the grass for a moment before darting off towards the playground section of the park, leaving Star to scramble after him as quickly as she could.

When she managed to catch up, she found him wrestling with Ferguson and Alfonso playfully, the two boys snickering. "Star!" Ferguson called, waving an arm above his head. "We found Marco!"

Star giggled and sauntered over, reaching a hand down to scratch behind his ears. "I see. You know, I kind of like him as a dog. Maybe I shouldn't turn him back."

Marco sent her a glare and nipped at her fingers teasingly, and Star pulled them away with a laugh. "Totally kidding, Marco."

He huffed in relief, his ears swiveling forwards as Star chuckled and began walking back towards the house.

"Or, maybe not."

She was going to get such an earful when she finally found the right spell.

* * *

 **Okay but actually a Brazilian Mastiff is a really cool dog, and Marco would totally fit its description if he was a dog.**

 **Reviews?**


	36. Sacrifice

**Sacrifice: Twiflutterdazzle's request.**

 **SpiderGirl107: I did not notice that lol. Whoops**

 **Miss Pineapples: Hmmmm that could be interesting. No promises, but we'll see what happens or if I have any inspiration for it.**

 **SuperShootingStar: Well that works too!**

 **I don't own Star vs. the Forces of Evil (this chapter is a mere drabble)**

* * *

GENERAL POV

* * *

"No!"

Marco slid against the pavement, gathering Star's limp body up into his arms and pressing his ear to her chest. "Come on, Star," he whispered, shutting his eyes and listening frantically for her non-existent heartbeat. "Please."

His voice cracked and he stifled a sob when he didn't hear anything aside from his own heart pounding in his head.

Marco lowered the girl back to the ground slowly, his eyes drifting to her bloody torso. She had taken that shot for him, and now he stood and faced the monsters with clenched fists.

It was time to repay the favor.

* * *

 **Yo! I'm coming up to my 100** **th** **story (WOW I'm old) and I think what I want to do is revamp one of my old PnF stories. I'm gonna set up a poll at some point on my profile so if you guys could vote on it at some point that would be great. This poll will be open until I've written my 99** **th** **story. If the poll doesn't show up by tomorrow, please let me know.**

 **Thanks, and reviews are welcome!**


	37. Reason to Celebrate

**Reason to Celebrate: Merry Christmas! Don't worry, I'll get to all requests, but I wanted to put up a little Christmas one shot for you guys. I'm so very grateful to have all of you guys reading and reviewing and favoriting my stories, and I wouldn't have gotten this far without all of you! I love you guys!**

 **Project K: Should I be worried?**

 **Finnjr63: Nope. Unless I specify otherwise in the author's notes, everything in this fanfiction is a one shot.**

 **King of France: Honestly I'm not sure if this is sarcasm or not, so I'm going to take it as such. But just a future note for you, don't leave a review like this on a chapter without clarifying whether or not you're joking. It makes the author feel like shit.**

 **Guest: Cause it's fun! Lol don't worry, this is a fluffy chapter**

 **HaLoReAcHgIrl: I will absolutely give that one a shot (though I don't know about the lion idea; that was a pretty sexually tense scene haha)**

 **I don't own Star vs. the Forces of Evil. Thank you guys so much, you have made this my most reviewed and most followed story (oddly enough, a one-shot beat it out for most favorites. Go figure lol)**

* * *

GENERAL POV

* * *

"So wait, why do humans celebrate this holiday?" Star asked, tilting her head and watching Marco lean away from his step ladder to string lights up on the roof of the house. "And are you _sure_ you don't want me to just do a spell and get those up for you?"

Marco chuckled and shook his head, managing to latch the lights onto the command hook that his parents left up throughout the year. "No, I've got it," he assured the girl. "It's more fun to do it by yourself."

He slid down the ladder with ease, leaning against it and grinning cheekily at Star. Snowflakes pattered down around them, which was slightly unusual for the warmer environment that they lived in, but with the weird weather that they had been having, Marco welcomed the snow with open arms. "Come on, give it a try. Dad should have the tree just about set up now."

Star bit her lip, tugging on the end of her scarf. Her cheeks were pink from the cold, it was starting to get dark out, and Marco was shivering just a bit, so she finally agreed and followed the Mexican-American inside.

Mrs. Diaz took one look at them and bustled them into the kitchen, where she handed each teenager a mug of hot chocolate and helped them remove their damp clothing. "Don't go getting sick the week before Christmas," Angie teased, nudging her son under the chin with a curled pointer finger. "We don't want a repeat of Christmas of 2011."

Marco grimaced and sipped at his beverage, gesturing Star into the living room and vanishing before she could question what exactly had happened in 2011 to make Marco look sick to his stomach.

"Marco, Star!" Mr. Diaz cried in delight, standing up from where he had been screwing the tree into the base. "You're just in time! I have the lights on, all that's left to do is put the ornaments and star on top!"

Star yelped a bit. "You're putting me on top of the tree?" she asked incredulously.

Marco laughed and wrapped a quick arm around her. "No, dummy, it's a glass star that we put on top every year."

Mr. Diaz held it up for her to see and Star relaxed, smiling at Marco sheepishly. He just grinned good naturedly and picked up a Tupperware box full of ornaments, handing one over to Star and grabbing another for himself. "Come on," he said, nodding to the tree. "I'll show you how it's done."

They were quiet while they hung the bulbs and homemade ornaments, Christmas music droning softly in the background and Mr. and Mrs. Diaz sitting silently on the couch and watching the teens methodically place everything on the branches.

Star studied every ornament, dropping bulbs onto branches gently and cracking a smile every time she came across an obviously handmade ornament with Marco's signature in the corner. Marco glanced over at her every now and again, giving her warm smiles that made the atmosphere in the room ever so much brighter.

It was only when Star's hand hit the bottom of the empty box that she realized they had gotten all the ornaments on the tree, and she turned to find Marco standing behind her with the star in his hands. He held it out with a smile and nodded at her.

"Why don't you put the star on top, Star?"

She took it from him slowly, a blush creeping up her cheeks, and she turned back to the tree to find that it was just a bit too tall for her to reach the top. "How do I-?"

Marco cut her off by stepping up in front of her, a grin on his face as he knelt and gestured to his back. With a giggle, the princess clambered onto him, piggyback style, and gripped at his shoulders as he stood up and leveled her eyesight with the top of the tree.

She settled the star perfectly on top and looked down to find Marco grinning up at her. Star smiled and leaned her chin against the top of his head, looking up in time to see Mrs. Diaz snap a picture of the two of them together.

"Mom!" Marco groaned, laughing.

He helped Star down and they turned to study the tree, glimmering cheerfully in the slowly darkening house. "You never did explain," Star said softly. "Why _do_ humans celebrate Christmas?"

Marco tilted his head thoughtfully, and a moment later reached out to grab Star's hand with his own, squeezing it gently between his fingers. "Some people celebrate it for religious reasons," he explained with a shrug. "Some, because they don't celebrate the other holidays and they want to celebrate something."

"I take it you don't do it for those reasons," Star guessed, glancing sideways at him.

Marco smiled and looked over his shoulder at his parents, both curled up and watching the kids quietly, and then he turned his gaze on Star. "No," he agreed.

He pulled her into a quick hug, resting his chin on top of her head and shutting his eyes.

"We celebrate it because it's the time of year where we get to be around the people we love the most."

* * *

 **Well I have a cavity now. I was listening to "Forbidden Friendship" from the HTTYD soundtrack, so that's probably why this turned out ridiculously cutesy.**

 **Pssst I am currently in the middle of writing an original story called "Little Magic." It's being posted on my Tumblr, my Fictionpress account, and my Inkitt account. My tumblr is the same as my fanfiction name, pftones3482, and my Fictionpress and Inkitt are both TakingOverMidnight. It would be the greatest Christmas present for me if you guys could go take a look at it and let me know what you think.**

 **Merry Christmas, Happy belated Hanukkah, happy Kwanza, and any other holiday you might celebrate! Have a wonderful holiday, you guys!**


	38. Can You Feel the Love Tonight

**Can You Feel the Love Tonight- prompt submitted by HaLoReAcHgIrL. This probably is not what you had in mind at all lol.**

 **PROJECT K: I just updated it!**

 **I don't own Star vs. the Forces of Evil. I hope everyone had a good holiday!**

* * *

GENERAL POV

* * *

Star frowned as she got home from work, dropping her bag on the floor and squinting up at the lights, which were all off, leaving the interior of the house completely dark.

"Marco?" Star called out, tugging her hair out of the ponytail she kept it in while teaching. "What on earth happened to the lights?"

Receiving no answer, Star trotted up the stairs, tilting her head as the soft sound of music permeated its way from her bedroom through the hallway. She rolled her eyes and turned in that direction, making sure to tiptoe past where she knew Penny was taking her late afternoon nap.

She twisted the doorknob of her bedroom and pushed the door open, the song finally identifying itself as _Can You Feel the Love Tonight_ from The Lion King, and Star nearly fell over in laughter.

Marco was sprawled across the king sized bed in a "draw me like one of your French girls" pose, a rose between his teeth and his eyebrows raised, a sparkle in his eyes. He was fully dressed, which made it even funnier.

"What are you doing?" Star giggled, leaning against the door jamb and struggling to be quiet so as not to wake Penny.

Marco snorted and spit the rose onto the comforter, picking himself up off the mattress and sauntering over to Star, dragging her towards him by the waist and leaning down to press a quick kiss to her lips. "Just waiting for you to get home," he said with a shrug.

Star laughed and laced her arms around Marco's neck, tilting her head. "Mmm. Well, I'm home. I gotta start getting Penny ready for dinner."

A suggestive grin worked its way across Marco's face. "Penny is at Buff Frog's, having a play date. We don't have to get her until after dinner is over."

"He'll feed her larvae again!" Star yelped, trying to pull away from her husband.

Marco chuckled and leaned down, settling a chaste kiss at the back of Star's jaw and making the woman freeze. "No he won't," he promised. "I gave Buff Frog a box of Mac n' Cheese, complete with instructions."

Star smiled and leaned into Marco's touch. "Well…okay then. What did you have in mind, then?"

Marco pulled back and raised an eyebrow, gesturing to the room. "What, you couldn't guess?"

He moved Star into the room and pressed her back lightly against the desk, a sly smile on his face as he reached behind her, brushing his free hand across Star's hip. With a flourish, he pulled out the Blu-Ray copy of The Lion King and held it up for Star to see.

"Disney movie marathon?" he proposed.

Star grinned and grabbed the DVD from his hand. "Race you to the living room."

* * *

 **Happy New Year everyone! (I'll probably update by then, but just in case)**


	39. Sea Monkeys

**Sea Monkeys: I apologize in advance for this I'm….so sorry. There was just…an impulse buy prompt. And I have no idea…what I'm doing anymore.**

 **I don't own Star vs. the Forces of Evil.**

* * *

GENERAL POV

* * *

"STAR?! WHAT THE HECK?"

"What?"

"YOU BOUGHT 73 SEA MONKEY KITS!"

Star glanced up at the massive stack of packaging and turned back to Marco, who had his hands clutched in his hair and his face filled with dismay. "Well yeah, that was all they had."

Marco turned to stare at her, flinging his arms out to either side of him. "Why?" he managed to get out. "WHY would you DO that?"

Star threw her hands up in the air. "It was buy one get one!"

"THEY'RE GOING TO DIE IN LIKE TEN MINUTES."

"THEY'RE WEARING TOP HATS, MARCO."

"THAT'S JUST FOR ADVERTISING!"

Star reached out and grabbed him by the lapels of his hoodie, dragging him forwards until they were nose to nose, and she held up one of the kits menacingly, pointing to the cartoon sea monkey on the front.

"Top. Hats."

Marco groaned and three days later, he was required to attend 73 separate, tiny funerals.

* * *

 **I honestly don't know what that was okay I'm just laughing. I'm so sorry.**


	40. Froggysitting

**Froggysitting: Prompt submitted (via PM) by Kieran Wespell. In which Star and Marco (married, and with Penny) babysit Buff Frog's children.**

 **Godzilla2915: Fate always chooses Marco lol**

 **Unluckywrites: Obviously if they have top hats you have to buy them. All of them.**

 **I don't own Star vs. the Forces of Evil.**

* * *

GENERAL POV

* * *

"I can't believe you signed us up for this," Marco groaned, hoisting Penny's diaper bag over his shoulder and glaring at Star's back while she tied the toddler's shoes. "You know he has like, 45 kids, right?"

"47," Star corrected, bopping Penny on the nose and making the girl giggle. "And come on Marco, half of them haven't even hatched yet. They're just tadpoles."

Marco rolled his eyes and took Penny from his wife, settling the girl on his hip and watching as Star gathered up her bag, wand, and interdimensional scissors. "I still say you running the kingdom would probably be easier than this," he protested.

Star kissed him on the cheek and dragged her scissors down through the air, opening up a portal and pulling Marco through it.

They landed outside what used to be Ludo's old castle, rebuilt after the explosion with Toffee and now much shinier and friendly looking. Buff Frog had taken control after the chaos had died down and had worked with Ludo's former henchmen to rebuild the castle, and then several others for the rest of the men.

Buff Frog owned this one, and was constantly keeping a lookout if Toffee ever should return. Ludo had vanished after the explosion, but no one was too concerned about his whereabouts, least of all Buff Frog.

After working with Star, they had declared a truce and eventually become good friends, to the point where Buff Frog was invited to Star and Marco's wedding, and now they babysat back and forth for each other, though it was much easier for Star and Marco to travel to Buff Frog to take care of his kids than it was for him to come to them.

He opened the door with a flourish, a smile sitting on his face. "Ah, Diaz's!" he exclaimed, turning to the side and letting them in. "Thank you for coming. I should not be too long; I only need to run some errands. Should be back in an hour or two."

Star smiled at him as Marco set Penny down on the floor, watching as the girl squealed and ran straight for a group of Buff Frog's children, who croaked in excitement upon seeing their human playmate. "It's no problem, Buff Frog."

Despite knowing that Buff Frog wasn't his actual name, the amphibian had assured them that he didn't mind if they called him that; he knew Yvgeny was rather hard to pronounce. He gave the two a grin and saluted before ducking out of the castle, moving quickly so that the younger children wouldn't notice him leave.

Marco glanced over at the children and gave a small sigh, a smile twitching on his lips. "You know he's gonna stay out as long as possible," he informed his wife, wrapping an arm around her waist.

Star giggled and untangled herself from Marco. "I know," she said with a shrug as she walked away.

He shook his head and then joined her, venturing over to find the kids playing contently with building blocks, Penny helping the smaller ones reach higher to put their blocks on top. When he saw Star's hand move towards her wand, he quickly blocked her, raising an eyebrow. "They're having fun," he murmured. "Let's not plunge this into chaos in the first five minutes."

Star pouted but agreed, and the adults dropped to the ground to help with construction of the block tower, which grew rather massive after a time, Marco getting the job of putting everything at the tip top because he was the tallest.

When the last block had been set on top, they all took a step back to admire their work, only to have one of the youngest frogs squeal in delight and dive headfirst into the tower, making everything tumble to the ground.

Star just laughed, scooping up the toddler into her arms and nudging her under her chin. "Silly," she declared. "How do you guys feel about a snack?"

Excited cheers erupted in the room and Marco and Star led the way into the kitchen, two dozen frogs hopping around behind them and Penny clutching to her father's hand.

Star plopped the toddler in her hands down on a counter top and dug into the cabinets while Marco situated each of the children in their chairs or highchairs, distributing bowls and cups of what looked like moldy apple juice (he didn't question it).

He handed Penny her own snack of goldfish crackers and grape juice and then turned to help Star pull out the dried crickets and flies from the cupboard. "Okay, regular flavor," Star asked, "or Mac n' Cheese flavor?"

Cries for the Mac n' Cheese rang out and Star grinned, distributing them out quickly and efficiently. The first time Marco had heled babysit, before he and Star had gotten married, he had been a tad bit repulsed by everything the kids ate. Now, however, he just shrugged, grabbed a cricket, did a little magic trick with it, and popped it in his mouth, much to the delight of the children in front of him.

Star just grinned at him, shaking her head and putting away the excess crickets before moving over to Marco and settling her head on his shoulder. "You know," she commented, "I remember a time where you would sooner get stabbed than eat a bug."

Marco snorted and swallowed, leaning down to press a kid to Star's forehead. "Yeah, and I remember a time where you would die for a sandwich," he teased.

"I still would," the woman muttered, crossing her arms over her chest and watching as the kids munched.

"Want me to go check on the tadpoles?" Marco asked, glancing towards the stair case.

Star nodded. "Go on. I've got it down here."

He darted up the stairs and peeked into the nursery, careful not to make too much noise, and found the tadpoles snoring contently, their tiny tails wiggling in their sleep. He smiled fondly and shut the door again, tiptoeing down the hall and back to the kitchen.

Which was in utter chaos.

He ducked to avoid getting hit by a flying cricket and searched for Star, finding her in the middle of the mess with a distraught look on her face. "What _happened_?" Marco asked in disbelief, picking his way over several children to get to her. "I literally left for like thirty seconds!"

"They just…wanted seconds," Star mumbled. "But there weren't enough Mac n' Cheese ones."

Marco nearly face palmed then and there, looking around to find Penny still sitting calmly in her high chair, eating goldfish crackers one by one as crickets and larvae and other various types of bugs were flung around her.

It was going to be a long night.

* * *

 **I feel like Star is the type of babysitter to try and have fun, but it goes wrong, and Marco is firm but fair, and together they balance each other out and are the best babysitters.**

 **Reviews?**


	41. Happy New Year!

**New Year's Eve: Heyo! I decided to post this before I went to celebrate festivities with my friends.**

 **PROJECT K: Oh my gosh. That'll be the next one, I LOVE that prompt!**

 **Guest: Haha I doubt that; they're a really good writer and have a LOT of prompts.**

 **I don't own Star vs. the Forces of Evil.**

* * *

GENERAL POV

* * *

"So there's this tradition," Marco explained as they walked down the street towards Ferguson's house, breath frosting in the chilly December air. "On New Year's Eve, at midnight, whoever you're with is whoever you're meant to be with for the rest of your life."

Star's eyebrows shot up in surprise and she tucked her hands firmly into her coat pockets. "Seriously? Is this like, proven?"

Mr. Diaz, who was walking behind them a little more slowly with Mrs. Diaz holding his hand, laughed. "No, Star, it's not proven. It's just a little superstition."

Marco grinned over his shoulder at his parents. "Yeah, but _you_ guys were together on New Year's Eve, and look where you are now. Plus, Jackie's gonna be at the party. This is my chance!"

Star smiled and let her eyes drift back to Ferguson's house, lit up with dozens of sparkling lights and music pouring out the windows. The entire Diaz family and Star had been invited to their New Year's party, and frankly she was a little excited for her first Earth New Year. On Mewni, the New Year's always involved some kind of weird sacrifice. One year they had to throw all of their shoes into a fire pit.

"Star, is Oskar going to be there?" Marco interrupted his thoughts.

The girl frowned and burrowed her nose into the warmth of her scarf, shrugging. "I don't know," she admitted.

Ferguson threw open the door as they approached the front steps, a party hat on his head and a party horn dangling from the corner of his mouth. A piece of pizza was clutched in his right hand and a glass of sparkling cider in his left, and he held the door open for them with his foot.

"Hey guys!" he called in delight. "Happy New Year!"

They responded accordingly and followed the pudgy boy inside, depositing their coats in a bedroom and walking with Ferguson into the living room, where adults and children alike were gathered, dancing and laughing and singing along to the music playing throughout the room.

"There she is," Marco hissed, grabbing onto Star's shoulder and directing her gaze to the corner of the room, where Jackie sat laughing at something Janna had just said. "Jackie Lynn Thomas."

Star gave him a smile and shoved him towards them. "Well, then go talk to her dummy."

Marco's face drained of all color but he nodded, straightening his hoodie and sauntering to the other side of the room, leaving Star and Ferguson alone, Mr. and Mrs. Diaz having gone to talk to the other adults.

Ferguson looked sideways at Star and smiled thinly. "Jealous?" he asked with a soft chuckle, handing her a plate of nachos and cheese that he grabbed from a passing "server" (his cousins in disguise).

Star took the plate and chomped down on a nacho, shrugging. "I dunno," she mumbled. "I shouldn't be, but….you know?"

Ferguson glanced over at where Alfonso was talking cheerfully to a couple of girls and snorted. "I feel it."

The princess followed his gaze and rolled her eyes, shoving him lightly and grabbing another cheese covered chip. "Okay, yeah, but you have nothing to worry about; you and Alfonso are already dating."

Ferguson laughed and then, seeing the look on her face, sobered up a bit, tilting his champagne glass in Marco's direction. "Star, for once I'm being serious; talk to him. Tonight. _Especially_ tonight."

He stepped away and Star sighed, finishing up her nachos and then grabbing a glass of sparkling cider, wrinkling her nose at the bubbly taste that hit her tongue before shrugging and moving around the room, greeting people politely as she got closer to Marco.

As she passed a couple of dancing adults, however, Marco started laughing hysterically, presumably at something Jackie had said, and Star felt herself deflate, the hearts on her cheeks dimming. She set her glass down on a table and turned around, walking quickly towards the door and stepping back outside.

She slumped down onto the steps, hugging her knees to her chest and staring down at the ground quietly.

Star knew she shouldn't be jealous. This was her best friend, for goodness sake! But the more he obsessed over Jackie, the more jealous she became. She had been over Oskar for nearly a month, after Ferguson had finally made a move on Alfonso and Star had realized that she wanted what they had; mutual trust and respect for each other.

Not just falling for someone because of how they looked or sounded.

The door opened behind her and Star groaned, thumping her head into her knees. "Go _away_ , Ferguson. I can't do it, okay?"

She spread her hands out to either side of her, tears prickling in her eyes and biting at her cheeks as the wind blew, sending dustings of snow across the yard. "I can't tell him. Not…not when he's this happy."

Ferguson stayed silent and Star sighed, burying her head into her hands and wishing that she had grabbed her coat from the guest room. "Marco just….likes Jackie. There's nothing I can do about it."

Warmth settled over her shoulders and Star glanced up ever so slightly to see her jacket draped around her body. She tugged it closer and swiped at the tears in her eyes.

"You know, Star," said a voice that was _definitely_ not Ferguson's, "you kinda freaked me out when you left like that. I thought that…I dunno, a monster was outside."

Marco settled down next to her, brushing shoulders and clasping his hands in his lap, staring down at the freezing sidewalk as his eyebrows furrowed. "But you don't...you know you can tell me things, right?"

He looked over at her, his eyes filled with a warm kind of concern that made Star look away before he could see her blush. "Yeah," she murmured, shrugging and pulling her coat on properly.

Marco stayed silent for a minute, a hand working across his jaw. "Star if you….if you _liked_ me…why didn't you just say something? To me, not to Ferguson."

Star flinched, ducking her head and letting her hair cover her face to hide the fresh tears that were forming. "You…you like Jackie," she said feebly. "And…I don't want anything to get between us, and so it was easier to just….let you be happy."

Her voice cracked and Marco instantly moved so that he was kneeling in front of her, using his gloved fingers to brush her hair back, his gaze softening as he spotted her wet cheeks. "Star," he mumbled with a shake of his head, reaching a thumb out and swiping it across her skin. "You're not going to ruin _anything_ between us, I promise. Okay?"

Her lower lip quivered and Marco quickly dragged her into a hug, rubbing her back soothingly. "Hey," he whispered. "It's fine. This is fine."

"But it's not," she whimpered, clutching at his back. "It's not, I made everything awkward now, with you actually getting confident enough to talk to Jackie, and I-"

Marco's quiet chuckle made her break off and she pushed him away, eyes flashing. "Are you _laughing_ at me?"

He held up his hands rapidly, shaking his head. "No, of course not. Star, Jackie…she and Janna have been dating for two weeks. They just haven't told anyone."

Star merely blinked at him for a second, not fully comprehending what he was saying. "They…huh?"

He smiled and moved again so that he was sitting on the step below her, his body swiveled so that he could see her. "My response exactly. Look, it's okay to admit things to people," he promised. "No matter how they might view you afterwards. But when it's _me_?"

Marco reached out and squeezed her hand tightly. "Star, you are literally my best friend, and when you feel like there's something you can't tell me…."

He frowned and furrowed his eyebrows, looking down at the ground. "Well, then I'm not a good enough friend. I'm sorry."

Star shook her head and ran a hand through her hair. "You're a great friend," she protested. "That's why I couldn't tell you. I was so scared that….that I was going to lose you."

From inside the house came cheers and screams and cries of "Happy New Year!" and the two glanced up as fireworks started going off in the sky above them. A wry smile worked its way across Marco's face and he stood, holding out a hand to Star.

"Look at it this way," he said with a grin. "According to tradition, you're stuck with me."

* * *

 **Oh my god that was just….wow. (pssst. Please check out my story Little Magic? On Fictionpress? Under the name TakingOverMidnight? I'd really really appreciate the feedback)**

 **Happy New Year everyone!**


	42. Kindergarten

**Kindergarten: Prompt from SonicELITE.**

 **Finnjr63: Haha yup they're adorable together!**

 **Ghost: Omg you're baaaaacccccckkkk. I missed your reviews! I'm so happy you liked it, and I'm sorry your party got cancelled!**

 **Lupus Boulevard: Yeah, which was why I didn't end it with them kissing.**

 **Creativity Queen: That would be a cute idea! Up next ;)**

 **Just a Little Spark: Omg no ramble all you want I love long reviews so much! I'm really happy you like my writing! A whole month of Laffy Taffy's would probably end with my teeth falling out tbh. And I will absolutely give the coffee shop au a try, but just a warning, I know nothing about fancy coffee and syrups and all that jazz.**

 **Bravo107: I don't know about forever, but I'll keep going as long as I can!  
EVAunit42: You absolutely sense Gravity Falls. I'm really happy with that name tbh. **

**I don't own Star vs. the Forces of Evil.**

* * *

GENERAL POV

* * *

"Okay, Marco," Angie said gently, kneeling down next to the six-year-old and clasping his cheeks in her hands. "Are you excited for your very first day of kindergarten?"

Marco turned wide, curious brown eyes towards the elementary school building in front of him and tilted his head thoughtfully, watching the bigger kids stream inside chatting away happily with one another. He turned back to his mother and nodded vigorously, smiling and taking her hand as she stood back up and walked him towards the entrance.

"Good!" Mrs. Diaz declared brightly. "I bet Alfonso and Ferguson will be there, and Jackie and Janna, and maybe you'll even make some new friends!"

Marco bobbed his head and allowed his mother to tug him inside the school and down into the kindergarten hallway, where the children slowly shrank until they were Marco's size and not two feet taller than him. He relaxed a little at that; after all, you could get hurt if the bigger kids didn't see you, and his grip on his mother loosened a bit as they walked into room 43, already filled with squealing kids and parents.

Marco gazed around the room as his mother talked politely to the teacher, his eyes picking out Alfonso quickly, but none of his other friends. They must have been in a different class.

The boy frowned in irritation when he spotted a bigger boy walking over to his friend. His stomach was poking out from under his shirt, kind of like Ferguson's did, but Ferguson didn't scowl as much as this guy.

Marco tugged on his mother's hand, looking up at her pleadingly. "Mom, can I go play with Alfonso?" he asked, pointing to his friend.

Angie looked towards the boy in question and frowned when she saw the larger kid snatch Alfonso's glasses from his face. "Yes, of course, honey, let me walk you over there."

"Give them back!" Alfonso was pleading, his hand grasping anxiously at the air around him. "Larth!"

"Young man," Mrs. Diaz said, her tone low and warning. "Give Alfonso his glasses back. He can't see without them, and that's not nice to take people's things."

Lars smiled sweetly, a rapid change in attitude from moments before, and he handed Alfonso's glasses back without hesitation. "Sorry, miss. I didn't know they helped him ta see."

Angie looked like she didn't believe him, but Lars scampered off before she could say anything else, and she knelt to help Alfonso readjust his glasses. "There you go sweetheart," she declared, cupping Alfonso briefly under the chin.

He grinned, a gap in his front teeth. "Thank you Mithus Diath," he said brightly, his words lisping over each other.

Angie chuckled and turned to Marco, giving him a quick hug. "Behave today, okay hon? I'll see you at noon. That's in only a couple hours."

Marco smiled. "I know, Mom," he protested, kissing her on the cheek. "Bye!"

The woman laughed and waved to the two boys, saying something quickly to the teacher and then leaving alongside several other parents. Marco and Alfonso went back to playing, pulling out ninja action figures and pretending to battle various stuffed animals that they found.

The teacher's clapping hands alerted them a few minutes later that it was time to clean up, and in moments the class of twelve was seated in a circle on the rug off to the side of the room. Miss Levine smiled down at them from her chair and gestured towards the door.

"Okay kids, I know a lot of you went to pre-school together, so you all know each other pretty well, but today we have a student joining us who moved from a long way away, all the way on the other side of the country."

Some of the kids in the class oohed at that and Marco just rolled his eyes. So what? His dad was all the way from Mexico. Nevertheless, he looked politely towards the door as a man walked in, holding the hand of a blonde haired girl that looked Marco's age.

The dad was kind of short, and had a long beard that reminded Marco of Santa, except this man smiled less than Santa did. The girl had big blue eyes and she was wearing a poofy blue and white dress that Marco thought seemed really fancy for kindergarten.

"Class," Miss Levine said, holding a hand out and drawing the girl into her grasp. "This is Star Butterfly. She's from Florida!"

Star waved shyly, a smile on her face and her eyes sparkling as the class chorused hello at her. Miss Levine told Mr. Butterfly to leave, and then she made Star sit down next to her in the special sharing chair.

"Star, do you want to tell us something fun about yourself, or about Florida?"

The girl thought for a moment, before lighting up again and clasping her hands in front of her. "In Florida there are lotsa alligators, and some of them are big and mean but some are real lazy and you can get super close to them and feed them!"

Marco scoffed quietly. _Feed_ alligators? That was dangerous! How could anyone feed something with that many teeth?

Miss Levine chuckled and shook her head. "Well, that's certainly interesting! Though I'd advise you not to feed animals without permission," she admitted with a wink. "Now, let's start by learning everyone's names, ages, and birthdays."

As Marco sat back and listened to the other kids gush about their birthdays, he kept one eye on Star. That girl was crazy. He'd have to be careful to stay away from her.

* * *

"Okay, guys, recess!" Miss Levine declared, clapping her hands together and drawing their attention away from the family coloring assignment she had given them.

Marco eagerly set down his red crayon, which he had been using to color his sweatshirt, and pushed his chair back, watching to make sure he didn't run into anyone before lining up at the door with the rest of his classmates.

He and Alfonso were the first ones to the sand pit when they got outdoors, and Marco eagerly dug into the grains with a plastic shovel, dumping the sand into a bucket that Alfonso held out for him. "How high should we try to make the tower this year?" he asked curiously, looking over at his friend as he gathered up another scoop.

Last year during pre-school, Marco, Alfonso, and Ferguson had spent all year when they got to go outside trying to make a sand castle bigger than them. It never happened; they were always called inside before they could finish it.

Alfonso bit his lip, tilting the bucket so Marco could reach it better. "I dunno," he admitted. "We can't make it ath big ath latht year without Ferguthon."

Marco frowned, sitting back on his heels and looking down at his shovel. "I guess you're right," he admitted glumly. "Well…what if-?"

"Oww!"

Marco and Alfonso spun around to find Lars tugging on the new girl's pigtails, a mean smile on his face as he teased her. "What kinda dumb name is Star?" he asked. "And why'd you wear this dumb dress to kindergarten?"

Star whimpered and struggled to pull away, and Alfonso and Marco looked at one another with identical frowns before getting up from the sand and darting over.

" _I_ think her dreth ith pretty!' Alfonso shouted, crossing his arms over his chest and effectively drawing Lars' attention towards them.

"Yeah!" Marco agreed. "And Star is a really cool name!"

Lars scowled at them and let go of Star quickly enough so that she was unbalanced and went tumbling to the ground.

"Bethides," Alfonso said tauntingly. "You're jutht mad that your dumb and ugly and sheth not!"

Lars shouted angrily and Alfonso yelped, darting away as the bigger boy took off chasing him, leaving Marco to help Star up off the ground. "Are you okay?" he asked in concern.

Star glanced down at her hands with a frown, and Marco winced when he spotted the scrapes on them. "Here," he said quickly, digging into his pockets and pulling out a couple of bandages. "They have dinosaurs on them, and I know girls don't like dinosaurs, but I think they're pretty neat. Plus they'll keep the germs away from your cuts."

Star giggled softly and took the bandages with no hesitation. "You're weird," she decided. "But I like you. I also really like dinosaurs. Triceratops is my favorite. I like it's horns. They're like a unicorn! But cooler!"

Marco grinned and helped her apply the Band-Aids. "There," he declared, stuffing the wrappings back into his pocket. "All better."

Star pointed across the playground at Alfonso, who was still being chased by Lars. "Should we get Alfonso away from Lars?" she asked, her eyebrows furrowing.

Marco scanned the playground and spotted the teacher's aid quickly, helping another student off of the round under the swing set. "There's Mrs. Miller," he said, pointing. "Why don't we go tell her Lars is being a bully and get him in trouble instead? And then…maybe do you wanna help me and Alfonso make a sand castle?"

Star smiled brightly at him and nodded, her pigtails bobbing, and together the kindergartners raced across the blacktop to save their friend.

* * *

 **Ah, Marco. Always the safe kid. And Alfonso with a lisp because of missing teeth is adorable.**

 **I'm kinda really pleased about how this came out!**


	43. Hiccups

**Hiccups: Prompt submitted by Creativity Queen. I'm back in school, so no promises on when I'll be posting chapters and such.**

 **Guest 2: Not in this series, no, but only because I'm keeping this strictly SVTFOE. However, if you had a prompt that you wanted me to do for that, I could totally make a separate crossover story.**

 **Just a Little Spark: Lol that's true. Strawberry Frappuccino, here I come! Your prompt is next.**

 **Smitty Smith: I don't think so lol. Miller is the last name of my youth director, and Florida seemed like the most dangerous of the states that Star could get into mischief in ha-ha.**

 **The skeptic potato: I could do that. It won't be the next chapter, but the one after that.**

 **StarButterfly07: On my desk, double spaced, 12 point Times New Roman, stapled by Monday.**

 **I don't own Star vs. the Forces of Evil.**

* * *

GENERAL POV

* * *

"Marcooooooo!"

Said boy grimaced and shut one eye at Star's squealing shriek, wiping his sweaty forehead with a hand towel and turning away from his punching bag. "In here!" he called.

Star burst into his room a moment later, her eyes panicked and her hands tugging at her hair. "Whoa, Star, what's wrong?" Marco asked quickly, rolling up the sleeves of his karate uniform and walking over to her.

"Marco!" the girl yelped. "You have to *hic* help me! Something is *hic* wrong with my throat!"

The boy bit his lip hard to keep from smiling and he tilted his head, brushing away the bangs from his forehead. "Oh? Do you know what it is?"

Star gestured helplessly at her neck. "I don't *hic* know!" she whined. "I think there's *hic* something really wrong with *hic* me!"

Her pure look of desperation made Marco finally let his laughter out, and he doubled over with his hands on his knees, chuckling madly and struggling not to snort.

Star glowered at him, crossing her arms over her chest. "This isn't *hic* funny Marco! I could be *hic* dying!"

Marco shook his head and straightened up again, putting a gentle hand on the girl's shoulder. "You're not dying, Star. You just have the hiccups. Don't you have those on Mewni?"

Star shook her head, looking bewildered, and Marco rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "It might have something to do with atmospheric pressure," he muttered.

"So I'm not *hic* dying?" Star clarified.

Marco grinned. "Not at all. The hiccups are totally normal for people on Earth. You might have eaten something too fast. Sometimes they just happen randomly."

"Is there a way to *hic* get rid of them?" Star asked, clasping her hands in front of her pleadingly.

Marco's face lit up and he snapped his fingers. "Yes. One sec."

He darted from the room, leaving Star standing alone in his bedroom with a confused look on her face. When he hadn't come back within a few moments, Star furrowed her eyebrows and peeked into the hallway. "Marc*hic*o?" she called.

When she got no response, Star ventured from the room and tiptoed down the hallway, fiddling with the tips of her hair.

"Where did you *hic* go?" the girl tried again as she neared the bathroom at the end of the hall.

With no warning, Marco leapt out of the bathroom, screaming at the top of his lungs and holding his hands up like claws.

That was probably a mistake on his part, as seconds later Star had her wand out and Marco was stuck to the wall with what appeared to be caramel.

"Okay," the boy groaned, struggling to move. "That's my fault. Note to self: don't scare the monster fighting princess."

"Marco!" Star snapped, crossing her arms over her chest. "What were you *hic* doing?"

As she helped get him down off the wall, Marco explained: "One of the tricks to getting rid of hiccups is to scare the person who has them. I guess you're used to people jumping out at you though."

Star frowned and tucked her wand away, brushing the last of the caramel from her hands. "What *hic* else is there?"

Marco shrugged stiffly, the caramel slowly hardening against his body. "A couple different things. But uh…I think I'm going to change out of my uniform before this hardens completely."

Two minutes and one clean pair of clothes later, Marco and Star found themselves in the kitchen, Marco running the tap into a cup while Star rummaged through the drawers for a straw.

"So wha*hic*t is this supposed to *hic* do?" Star asked, turning around with a purple bendy straw in hand that she had produced from a lower cupboard.

Marco shut off the sink and turned around, holding out his hand for the straw and depositing the plastic into the water. "Sometimes if you drink water upside down it helps. So sit in that chair," he instructed her, pointing to one of the kitchen chairs, "and then turn upside down."

Star did so with ease, swinging her legs over the back of the chair and holding her hand out for the glass. Marco knelt next to her and helped the princess maneuver the straw into her mouth. "Slow sips," he murmured.

The girl nodded and took a couple of sips before the blood rushing to her head forced her to turn upright again, where she held her head for a moment before grinning.

"I'm not hiccup*hic*-!"

She scowled and kicked at the table leg. "Dang it. What else you got, *hic* Diaz?"

Marco handed over the glass once more. "Drink this again, but without the straw, and hold your breath at the same time."

Star shrugged and pulled the straw from the glass, tossing it to the table top and then taking a deep breath before gulping down several mouthfuls of water. She paused when she pulled the water away, and a slow smile broke out over her face.

"Testing…testing…one, two, three…Marco, they're gone!"

She shrieked in delight and set the glass down, jumping up off the chair and spinning in circles around the kitchen. Marco chuckled and shook his head, grabbing the glass and taking it over to the sink to dump out the excess water.

"That's great, Star. So what do you want to *hic* do?"

He froze and Star slid to a halt, her eyebrows shooting up in surprise. Another hiccup spilled from his lips and Marco groaned, slamming his head down into the countertop a little harder than necessary.

Great. Absolutely great.

"Marco! Why didn't you _tell_ me they were contagious?!"

* * *

 **I hope you enjoy these few cures for hiccups. The last one always works for me. Like always.**

 **Reviews are welcome!**


	44. Coffee Shop

**Coffee Shop: Prompt submitted by Just a Little Spark. Funny enough, my friends are out on a coffee run while I write this.**

 **MaFx98: Don't worry at all about your English, it's really good! If it's easier for you to type in your native language, I can translate it. And yes, I can absolutely try and write a fic for Star being pregnant!**

 **Guest 2: I personally don't have any ideas, but if you had any that would be fine.**

 **Fear: That would be cute! I'll see what I can do.**

 **I don't own Star vs. the Forces of Evil.**

* * *

GENERAL POV

* * *

The first time the Strawberry Frappuccino girl came in, Marco was incredibly stressed out and overwhelmed with customers. He barely looked up at her except to confirm her order and the name he should put on her cup. She had blonde hair and a pretty smile, but that was about all Marco managed to catch before he was whisked on to the next customer.

The second time the Strawberry Frappuccino girl came in, it was much quieter in the coffee shop, and Marco was finishing up a coffee order for an older man, who was carefully making his way out the door into the cold.

He tuned to find her standing at the counter tapping her debit card lightly against the glass top, not in a rude gesture but more in an absentminded way, her eyes perusing over the display case of baked goods the store offered while she waited to be served.

"Can I help you?" Marco asked, moving back over to the register.

The girl glanced up with a smile. "Can I get a small Strawberry Frappuccino?" she asked politely. "With whipped cream?"

Marco smiled thinly and entered the order into the register, cocking an eyebrow as she swiped her card through the machine. "Kinda cold for a Frappuccino, isn't it?" he noted.

She giggled as she tucked her card away, keen eyes watching Marco set to work on her order. "It's never too cold for a Strawberry Frappuccino," she protested.

He laughed at that and put an extra dollop of whipped cream on top of the beverage, carefully snapping a lid into place over all of it before handing it over the counter to her. "I suppose so. Have a nice day!"

She waved happily and practically skipped out of the coffee shop into the softly falling snow outside, leaving Marco once more alone in the barren room.

She came in every day after that and always ordered a Strawberry Frappuccino. Sometimes she got a cookie or a piece of cake to go with it, but the drink was always the same. Marco grew to learn that her name was Star, she was majoring in psychology and minoring in child development at the university down the road, she was an only child, and she hated the taste of black coffee.

He began to look forward to her visits every day, and was usually able to pinpoint when she would come in so that he could have her drink set up.

Nearly a month after she had started visiting his shop, she stopped coming.

It was one day at first, and Marco just shrugged and went about his business. It was nearing mid-terms time, and he assumed that she didn't have time to stop in and get something to drink. Though he missed her usual perky appearance in the shop, he went about his business and served the customers accordingly.

After a week of her absence, when the students had started coming back in floods because their tests had ended, he began to worry about his Strawberry Frappuccino girl. He went so far as to ask some of the students that came in on quieter days if they knew her.

On the third day of his asking, he questioned the teenage looking couple at the front of the line while he worked on their order, and they once again shook their heads before taking the drinks in their hands and leaving.

The boy behind them, however, gave Marco a quizzical look as he stepped up to the register. "Were you asking them about Star? Star Butterfly?"

Marco's heart leapt into his throat and he nodded quickly, glancing behind the guy to make sure he wouldn't be holding up any other customers. Seeing no one, he looked back at the student in front of him. "Yeah…it's dumb, but she used to come in every day and order the same thing and I'm kind of worried about her. Do you know her? And uh…what can I get you?"

The boy glanced over the menu for a second before shaking his head. "I know her," he answered softly. "She's in my early childhood development class. About a week ago, we were leaving classes and she uh…she stepped into the street. This car came flying around the corner and they…didn't see her."

Marco had frozen to his spot, fingers clenching slowly around the counter top and breathing hitched in his throat. "Is she-?"

"She's okay," the boy amended quickly. "Well…not _okay_ , but she didn't…she's not going to die. They're keeping her in the hospital down the road. She's got a lot of broken bones."

Marco let out a sigh of relief and hunched over the counter for a moment before glancing back up. "Thank god," he muttered. "Can I…can I get you something?"

The guy smiled thinly and glanced up at the board again. "Just a large coffee, two sugars and a pump of hazelnut."

Marco nodded and went to work quickly making the beverage, holding up a hand and shaking his head when the student made to hand over cash. "This is on the house. I owe you, man."

The guy took his coffee in surprise and gave Marco a smile. "You know," he offered as he started to leave, "she is allowed to have visitors."

He left and Marco hesitated, glancing over at his work schedule. He got off in half an hour.

* * *

Star sighed and tapped angrily at her laptop, trying to get her English homework done before her classmate came to deliver her statistics homework. Her leg was propped uncomfortably in the air, a massive cast around it that was slowly filling with signatures, and the bandage taped ever so slightly over her left eye made it very difficult to see.

There was a soft knock on her door and Star glanced up, eyebrows furrowed, to see Marco of all people standing there, looking a little nervous and holding a Strawberry Frappuccino in one hand.

"Marco?" she said in confusion, closing the top of her computer. "What…how did you…?"

He smiled anxiously and walked over, holding out the beverage in his hand. "I uh…you stopped coming in and I got worried about you…so I asked a bunch of students if they knew you and this one guy said that you had gotten hit by a car and were here so I…Strawberry Frappuccino."

Star took the drink slowly, a smile starting to grow on her face. "Strawberry Frappuccino?" she repeated with a laugh, taking a sip of the beverage.

Marco flushed and rubbed the back of his neck, grinning down at her. "Yeah. It's your favorite."

Heat rushed to Star's cheeks and she ducked her head, a sparkle in her eyes for the first time since her accident and a warm feeling in her chest. "Thank you," she murmured gratefully. "You uh…want to keep me company?"

Marco blinked in surprise but quickly pulled a chair over to the side of her bed, plopping down in it and leaning forwards on his knees.

"Absolutely."

* * *

 **Honestly I have no idea why I ended it that way.**

 **Reviews?**


	45. Back Home

**Back Home: Prompt given to me by the skeptic potato. Featuring the songs** _ **Hotel California**_ **by the Eagles and** _ **Back Home**_ **by Owl City.**

 **AnimationNut: I'm gonna need help on that one, seeing as I haven't seen the new Star Wars, but I can give it a shot.**

 **Guest: Can't have them get together in** _ **all**_ **of them, can I?**

 **MaFx98: It's no problem, I've gotten reviews in French, English, German, Spanish, and I'm pretty sure one time Russian. I am very willing to translate them, but if you're okay with typing in English that's fine too.**

 **ICan'tWrite07: I always get the strawberry frappe. It's my favorite.**

 **Guest 2: When I said an idea for a story, I meant like a line or two. It seems like you have a good idea of what you want in a story; why don't you try writing it yourself?**

 **I don't own Star vs. the Forces of Evil or either song mentioned in here.**

* * *

GENERAL POV

* * *

There was a quiet thrumming sound ringing through Star's ears, and she couldn't tell if she liked it or not. It was soft, varying from high pitched to low and back again, and sounded almost hesitant.

She swung out of her bed and her feet hit the floor with a gentle thump, heels slapping gently on the ground as she padded to the door and poked her head through the frame to peer down the hallway.

The strums got louder as she did so, and her eyes swiveled in the direction of Marco's room. Furrowing her eyebrows, Star stepped out the door and tiptoed down the hall, pressing her ear gently against the wood and leaning on the door with her hands.

The sound was very clearly coming from Marco's room, and the girl recognized with a start that it was a guitar. Considering how late it was, Star was surprised that Marco would have his radio on loud enough for her to hear down the hall, especially since his parents were already asleep.

Of course, that was until she heard Marco actually start singing and she realized the guitar wasn't a recording; it was live.

" _On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair…warm smell of colitas, rising up through the air..."_

Star's eyes widened and she grabbed for the doorknob, twisting it and pushing the door open. Her action caused Marco to screech to a halt, mouth hanging open and guitar sitting loosely in his hands, fingers positioned on the strings lightly.

"Star?" the boy yelped softly, nearly chucking the guitar aside and leaping to his feet, ushering her inside so that he could shut the door. "What are you doing awake so late?"

"You play guitar?" Star asked in delight, ignoring his question entirely.

Marco winced and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, looking away from the princess and tugging anxiously on the end of his night shirt. "Yeah," he admitted. "I do."

"And you _sing_ too?" Star whispered excitedly.

Marco squeezed his eyes shut and buried his face in his hands, skin heating up. "Yes," he grumbled into his palms.

"Will you play something for me?"

Marco's head shot up in surprise and he lowered his hands slowly, staring at Star's earnest face in shock. "What?"

Star shrugged and leaned over, picking up the guitar from the bed and handing it over gently. "I don't know how to play guitar," she explained with a frown. "And you can…plus you have a good voice."

Marco swallowed and took the guitar from Star with shaky fingers. "I uh…I'm not _that_ good," he protested, settling himself back down onto the edge of his bed and crossing one leg under his body.

Star flopped down next to him and leaned forwards on her knees, smiling brightly. "You shush. You sounded great, Marco. Please?"

He laughed softly and shook his head before picking up the guitar delicately and settling it down again and pulling at the strings for a moment, a contemplative look on his face.

When he started plucking the song out, a vaguely country-ish noise, Star shut her eyes and relaxed for a moment, just listening to the rhythmic twang that came before Marco started singing.

" _I'm saying goodbye to the skyline, hello to the sweet pines…gonna see you later streetlights, I'm headed back to tree lines. To free time and starry nights, to bonfires and fireflies. Pack your bags it's time to go…'cause we got brighter lights back home."_

His voice trailed off softly and the strums of the chords on the guitar got a bit louder and warmer, and in between each strum Marco would tap lightly on the wood of the guitar to build a faster rhythm.

" _I've got aching feet…from walking…over miles of concrete. And I can't wait to dream…but the city you know she won't go to sleep…"_

Star sighed deeply and leaned against Marco's shoulder as he went back into the chorus, feeling the vibrations of the guitar through his arms and relishing the soft sound of his voice as it grew from quiet to much more confident and loud. She could practically feel him start to smile as he hit the second verse.

" _Back home, there's a girl named Mary Lou, a diner off the highway with a corner booth. And every gravel road is a trip down memory lane…back home where the corn grows ten feet tall, every year is measured on the pantry wall…the willow trees are waving 'til we come back home again…"_

As he ventured into the chorus for the last time, Star hummed softly in the back of her throat and snuggled further into his side, feeling fatigue start to overcome her, along with a warm feeling of safeness and comfort that settled somewhere in her chest.

She registered the sound of the guitar trailing off and struggled to open her eyes, only to find Marco slowly guiding his arms around her shoulders and drawing her down to the bedspread under them.

She repositioned herself so that she was tucked tightly against his side, and Marco tugged a blanket up around them gently.

"Go to sleep, Star," he murmured.

Star yawned and nuzzled her nose into the crook of his neck. "That was really nice, Marco," she mumbled softly.

He laughed quietly and rubbed a slow thumb across her shoulder. "Thanks, Star."

She started to speak again, but Marco cut her off by beginning to sing again softly, his voice sending vibrations across her skin that put her to sleep faster than she would care to admit.

" _Pack your bags it's time to go…'cause we've got brighter lights back home."_

* * *

 **I feel like this song would subconsciously remind Star of home. It's really soothing, so yeah. You know what else is oddly soothing? Motor oil and guy's cologne. That's what I smelled like for a solid seven hours last night.**

 **Reviews are lovely.**


	46. Cravings

**Cravings- prompt submitted by MaFx98. In which Star is pregnant. Very pregnant.**

 **In response to everyone who asked: I was in an auto body shop for seven plus hours helping one of my friends with a charity event and he hugged me a lot. So gasoline and guy's cologne.**

 **King of France: If by usual quality you mean my 98 stories, 415 followers, and over 4,000 total reviews…then I think I'm very much up to my usual standards. I'm sorry you're disappointed, but if you don't have any HELPFUL criticism to leave then don't review.**

 **Saph: I'm surprised; it's been a while since I've gotten an intentionally sad prompt. It's on the list.**

 **I don't own Star vs. the Forces of Evil. READ MY AUTHORS NOTE AT THE BOTTOM TO HELP ME PULL A PRANK.**

* * *

GENERAL POV

* * *

"Psst…Marco. Maaaaarrrrrcooooooo. MARCO."

The man bolted upright in bed, fists flying up to cover his face and eyelids fluttering. "Whazzat?" he grunted.

Star giggled and reached over, gently tugging his hands down and leaning on his shoulder. "Put your hands down, silly. No monsters."

Marco grumbled and buried his head in his hands, rubbing his palms to his eyes briskly before blinking at the clock. "Star, it's almost three in the morning. What's wrong?"

Star bit her lip and tugged on the end of her hair, one hand moving to rest on her noticeably swollen belly. "Well…I kind of really want a pomegranate."

Marco blinked heavily before turning his incredulous gaze on his wife. "You want _what_?"

Star threw her hands in the air. "A pomegranate! And like…pulled pork. On a sesame bun. With PICKLES."

Marco groaned and slid out of bed, wearily shoving his feet into his slippers and shuffling his way to the door. "Yeah alright," he muttered. "Stay here. I'll be back."

Star grinned brightly and settled back in the bed, fingers intertwining over her stomach. "Thanks baby."

Marco waved a hand dismissively at her and stumbled out of the room.

* * *

When he returned with a piping hot pulled pork sandwich from a nearby twenty-four-hour restaurant and a pomegranate from the gas station, he found Star passed out once more in the cushions.

Despite his exhaustion, Marco couldn't help but smile a little at the sight of his wife. She was nearly eight months pregnant with their first child, and she had been a champ throughout the whole thing, never complaining about swollen ankles and morning sickness despite the fact that she obviously despised it all.

It was the least Marco could do to pull three am runs for her weird cravings. He wasn't the one with another human inside of him, after all.

He settled onto the edge of the bed and gently nudged Star on the shoulder. "Star? I got you what you wanted. You want me to throw them in the fridge for later?"

Star yawned and rolled over so that she was facing Marco, and her nose wrinkled up as soon as she caught a whiff of the pulled pork.

"Oh my god. That's disgusting. I _wanted_ that?" she protested, her face tinged a little green.

Marco quickly tied up the bag and pulled it away from her. "Apparently not," he murmured. "It's okay, hon. I'll go put everything away. Get some sleep baby."

She nodded and was unconscious before Marco was out of the room.

As he trotted down the stairs to stuff everything into the fridge, knowing that Star would once again want everything in the morning, he couldn't help but smile.

That poor baby was going to have the strangest taste in food.

* * *

 **YO. AUTHOR'S NOTE FOR PRANK.**

 **Me and a bunch of my friends are sending my friend Mike's hat around the world, and we really need more people to participate in this! He knows we have his hat; what he doesn't know is that over spring break it's going on a little trip to Puerto Rico. And then California. And then Nebraska. And then…well, you get it.**

 **If you guys are willing to do this, please SEND ME A PM WITH YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS. IT WILL REMAIN CONFIDENTIAL BETWEEN MYSELF AND THE PERSON WHO IS GOING TO SEND THE HAT TO YOU. Do NOT leave your information in the reviews. If you don't have a fanfiction account, contact me on Tumblr or make an account.**

 **Full information can be found on my Tumblr, pftones3482, (tagged #where is mikes hat) or you can ask me questions over PM. We also have a Facebook group that I would be happy to add anyone to.**

 **We need as many people as possible to do this, so please contact me!**

 **Thanks so much guys!**


	47. Too Much

**Too Much: I'm going to get to Saph's prompt next, but I needed something happier after the last couple weeks I've been having. Sorry it's taken so long to update; life's been iffy.**

 **Liliana Dragonshard: Whenever you want to send me your address is fine.**

 **Its-tough-to-be-a-god: That'll be the chapter after the next. Thanks for the prompt, and good luck with your Ladybug stories!**

 **Saph: That's a good idea! Thanks!**

 **MaFx98: That's actually a cool idea, I'll bring it up with my friends.**

 **MagicMythMayhem: Thank you!**

 **I don't own Star vs. the Forces of Evil.**

* * *

GENERAL POV

* * *

"Hey Marco?"

Marco barely looked up from his algebra book, merely cocking an eyebrow in the general direction of the princess. "Mmm?"

"Is…is it possible to love too much?"

His brow furrowed, Marco glanced up to see Star sitting on her window seat, knees drawn to her chin and a finger tracing small hearts into the condensation on the panes provided by the rain outside.

"What do you mean?"

She shrugged and slid a finger through one of the hearts, crossing it out of existence. "I mean…do you ever just…love something so much that it hurts?"

Marco set his book down and turned in his chair to face her completely, letting his eyes trace over her prone form and settle somewhere off to her left, his cheeks flushing ever so slightly. "Yeah."

Star tilted her head thoughtfully at him and pulled her finger away from the window, wrapping the arm back around her legs. "I didn't think love was supposed to hurt," she protested softly, resting her chin on the tops of her knees.

Marco pushed himself to stand and walked over to the girl slowly, sitting down opposite her on the seat and drawing a leg up to rest under him. "There's different kinds of hurt," he said, swiping a hand across the window and gazing out into the rainy afternoon. "Some of them are good. Some…not so much."

Star frowned and her eyebrows crinkled together. "How can something that hurts be good?"

Marco smiled thinly and glanced at the girl. "You know how when we're fighting monsters, sometimes one of us will jump in front of the other and take a hit? And it hurts…but we did it out of lo-"

The word caught in his throat and Marco bit his lip, looking away again. "We do it because we care about each other," he finished feebly.

Star nodded and poked a smiley face onto the window, her lips pursed in consideration. "So…getting hurt…means you love someone?"

Marco shook his head quickly, pushing his hair off of his forehead and leaning over to grab Star's hand gently. "No," he said firmly. "Getting hurt doesn't mean you love someone."

Star stared at him in bewilderment. "But you just said-"

Marco cut her off. "Putting yourself in harm's way shows that you love someone. Just getting hurt is different. But when you sacrifice for someone else, you do it because you love them."

"What if they get hurt doing it? Is that…loving too much?"

He smiled and brought her hand to his lips, gently brushing a kiss across the girl's knuckles. "There's no such thing as loving too much."

She twisted so that she was curled up against his chest, brushing her fingers out across his hoodie and he tucked an arm around her, leaning his head on the damp window pane and staring out across the dripping backyard.

"You just love enough."

* * *

 **Not happy, but not sad. A nice neutral, I think. Calming almost.**

 **Reviews are loved, and the hat prank is still looking for volunteers if anyone is interested! Even if you don't want to give out your address, you can follow what happens on our Tumblr page where-is-mikes-hat.**


	48. Notes

**Notes: Saph's request, one where Marco dies instead of Star. This probably won't be what you're expecting from me.**

 **Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I've been having a kind of tough time with everything. Things are kind of bad right now.**

 **King of France: You're literally a child. Get the fuck out.**

 **Trigger warnings ahead; this chapter rated a high T. I don't own Star vs. the Forces of Evil.**

* * *

GENERAL POV

* * *

 _Maybe it's just not worth it. I mean, no one really needs me, right?_

Trembling hands clutched at the paper as feet pounded down the steps of the Diaz household, rattling the house to the core as Star struggled to keep calm and find her wand at the same time.

 _Not to fight monsters, not as a friend; I'm just…stupid. Worthless. No one would notice._

She noticed. She definitely noticed. The way her feet slid in the mud as she darted out into the pouring rain and scanned the backyard frantically. Noticed the missing javelin from her weapons shed. Noticed the torn red hoodie dangling off the edge of the fence.

 _No one would care._

She definitely cared. Sobs quivered through her body as she cast a locator spell, yanking at the hoodie until it came free and tumbled into her hands, faint streaks of blood visible on the sleeves.

 _I'm just not worth it. I never have been. I don't know why I keep pretending. I'm always the odd one out in things. I'm so tired of this. I'm so tired of all of this._

Water sloshed up into her boots as she followed the glowing arrow down the road and towards the park, but Star paid no mind, her fingers crushing the note into a ball as her lungs burned from the effort of running.

The arrow veered off the path and into the canopy of trees, her steps softened by fallen leaves and rainwater and her hair clinging to her face in wet strands.

 _I don't know anymore. I tried. I really did. I tried not to care, and I tried to ignore everything like everyone said. But it doesn't matter what I do. It still gets to me; it still hurts._

 _I'm tired of it hurting._

The arrow stopped abruptly and vanished and Star spun in a circle on one heel, eyes desperately scanning the ground. Her gaze landed on the brown and white pair of shoes that Marco always wore sticking out from behind a tree, and she slid in the mud as she stumbled towards him, her fingers grasping at the air to keep her steady.

A broken sob spilled from her lips and she collapsed in front of the boy, lifting one of his hands in hers and pressing two fingers against his wrist in search of a pulse, skin sliding on skin from a combination of blood and rain.

"Marco," she gasped, clutching at his shoulders and then moving to clasp his face in her hands. "Come on, _please_."

His eyes remained closed and Star slowly brought him towards her, crushing his body in a tight hug and ignoring the blood sliding from the gash in his neck. Tears soaked their way down her cheeks and intermingled with the rain, and for just a moment everything fell completely silent.

 _I'm sorry, Star. I can't do it anymore._

"I'm sorry, Marco," she choked out softly. "I'm sorry I wasn't there."


	49. Summer Camp

**Summer Camp: prompt submitted a couple chapters ago by Its-tough-to-be-a-god. Sorry it took forever to get to!**

 **Romantic Sloth: I had thought about that; however, for the most part the stories tend to be, if not silly and lighthearted, then at least amusing. The problem is that very few of the prompts are actually ones that I come up with; most of them are given to me in reviews. I have very little control over what people send me. If I changed the genre to something darker, I think I'd be afraid that people would be annoyed about that to. I could always have it as a general setting, but some people search for stories based on specific genres. I can understand where you're coming from though.**

 **King of France: Here's the thing: we're on the internet. You left no notice that you were trying to be sarcastic. I was having a shitty few weeks. And I don't care that you didn't like the chapter, but you gave me no reason why you didn't so that I could try more in the future. You need to think about what you type and how you type it, especially if you don't know who you're talking to. My writing reflects my mood, so that should give you some insight into how I've been feeling lately.**

 **AnimalKrazed: lol thank you, I appreciate the hugs.**

 **Liliana Dragonshard: I don't think I'll do that, if only because I'd rather not write multiple one shots with that theme in one set of stories. I think that, for now, I'm going to leave it. Sorry love.**

 **I don't own Star vs. the Forces of Evil. On a lighter note, who's seen Zootopia?**

* * *

GENERAL POV

* * *

Glitter.

There was so. Much. Glitter.

And beads, and string, and glue, markers, fabric, tissue paper…a crafters dream. And all Star could do was stare at the glorious pile in utter awe.

"Jackie," she gasped softly. "What _is_ all this stuff?"

The skater chuckled at the look on Star's face and popped her bubblegum, waving a hand around to gesture at the supplies. "Art stuff. This is our crafting hour; you can make whatever you want with whatever is here."

"Whooooaaaaaaaa," Star managed, flopping down onto one of the benches and reaching for a container of yellow glitter. She giggled as her fingers became sparkly within the first few seconds of holding the bottle, but nevertheless reached for the glue as well.

Jackie muttered something about glitter being contagious and sat down on the other side of the table from Star, carefully avoiding the glitter and grabbing for the string and beads. "What are you planning to make, there, Butterfly?" she asked curiously, stringing the beads onto the string in an intricate pattern.

Star, who had somehow managed to get glitter on the very tip of her nose, poked her tongue from her mouth and began placing dollops of glue around the edges of a wooden picture frame that had been provided.

"Well," she explained, her eyebrows furrowing as far too much red glitter sprinkled from the container, "I figured since Marco went to boring old karate camp instead of coming to the FUN summer camp, I would make him a picture frame and then put a picture of you and me in it to show him what he missed out on."

A devious flash sparked in Star's eyes that Jackie didn't quite understand, but she shrugged it off, watching with a wry smile as Star somehow got at least a cup of purple glitter on the corner of the frame.

"What if Marco doesn't like glitter?" Jackie asked, tying off her line of beads and starting in on a new one.

Star frowned and peeked into the cap of the green glitter in her hands. "Who doesn't like glitter?" she shot back in protest.

Jackie rolled her eyes. She could think of a few people. Her, in particular.

"Anyway," Star continued, looking up. "What are you making?"

Jackie held up her second line of beads. "Key chain. I'm gonna make a few more rows like this and then when I put them all together on the key ring they'll make a picture. I'll probably give it to my mom; she likes sappy things like that."

Star leaned over in delight, trying to see the growing pattern and unintentionally dusting Jackie's workspace with bright orange glitter. "Whoops!" the princess yelped with a laugh. "Sorry Jackie!"

Jackie bit back a snort and finished up her second row. Aside from Star's occasional mutterings about different colored glitter, their table fell into a comfortable silence as the girls worked on their art projects. The chattering kids around them turned into background static and eventually they became numb to the hard wooden seats under them.

Nothing disturbed either of them.

At least, not until Star made the mistake of accidentally getting glitter up her nose.

Jackie looked up as Star began pawing at her face with one hand, her nose wrinkling and eyebrows furrowing. Her free hand still held the rainbow colored glitter, cap off so that Star could do…well, Jackie wasn't sure _what_ the girl had been planning on, really.

But she'd seen enough movies to know how this would end.

" _ACHOO!_ "

Star's body jolted forward and her wrist flicked, the entire contents of the rainbow glitter flying out of the container and settling delicately onto Jackie's body, leaving her looking like a leprechaun who had just walked through a rainbow.

When Star finally looked up again, nose twitching, she winced. "Oh. Jackie I'm so-"

Jackie shook her head to cut her off, sending clouds off rainbow dust flying everywhere. "No big, Butterfly. Did you at least finish the frame?"

Star glanced down at the frame and smiled thinly, holding it up in delight and sending another shower of glitter to the poor table. "I sure did! Marco's gonna be soooo jealous."

Jackie nodded, carefully picking up her own art project, which she had finished mere moments before Star had sneezed. "Right. Ready to go back to the cabin?"

Star grinned and bounced to her feet, glitter sprinkling from her dress to the floor. "Duh. You look like you might need a shower."

Jackie snorted at the understatement and stood, grimacing as all of the glitter shifted around, some falling to the ground and the rest clinging stubbornly to her body. "Star," Jackie hissed as they walked out of the arts and crafts cabin, glitter trailing the two girls. "I have glitter in places there should never be glitter."

Star smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, Jackie."

"Tomorrow, we're using cotton balls."

* * *

 **I wanted to write something else with Jackie and Star for some reason. Plus the whole hat prank has now officially begun and Mike hates glitter, so this seemed appropriate (btw you can still join in on that if you'd like; just send me a PM for more info).**

 **Reviews are lovely! I also think I'm out of prompts, so if you have anything or if I said I would do something but haven't yet, let me know!**


	50. I Have No Chapter Title

**"** **I just came home to you crying watching a movie, please tell me what's going on." Prompt from Tumblr.**

 **SonicELITE: Hat project is going well so far; it's headed to California.**

 **King of France: I didn't get your name wrong? And also you basically just told me that you don't care that I wanted to kill myself so get out please. I don't want to ban anons but at this point I'm planning on it.**

 **Guest: That sounds like a super cute idea, but I think it would work better as a full length story than a one-shot.**

 **Liliana Dragonshard: I'm not super confident with writing gender bends, so I'm going to have to pass on that one.**

 **I don't own Star vs. the Forces of Evil.**

* * *

GENERAL POV

* * *

It wasn't that Marco didn't like his job. He actually quite enjoyed being a chef. But some nights it just got incredibly tiring having to deal with the know-it-all customers that decided their chili was just the tiniest bit too cold or that they had found a gray hair in their pasta (when, in fact, no one over the age of thirty worked in the kitchen and everyone wore hair nets and the woman complaining had gray hair but no, it couldn't have been her fault).

Basically, Marco was ready to go home, see his wife, take a shower that lasted far too long, and then collapse into bed and pass out until his alarm decided to scare him out of what would hopefully be a dreamless sleep.

He sighed and shut the door to his car probably harder than he needed to, clicking the lock on his key fob and slumping his way to the front door. His feet felt like lead and his fingers fumbled at the house key when he attempted to insert it into the lock on the door, but he finally managed to make it inside without passing out on the sidewalk.

The television was flickering softly in the living room and Marco rubbed at his eyes before poking his head in, assuming that Star had fallen asleep watching the news.

What he didn't expect was to find her sitting on the floor with her knees drawn to her chin and tears streaming down her cheeks, the occasional sniffle escaping from her nose.

Marco was pretty much instantly awake, and he darted to his wife's side in concern, kneeling next to her and putting a hand on her shoulder. "Star? What's wrong?"

The woman only sniffed again, pressing her hands to her forehead and letting out a shaky breath. "I hate movies," she whispered under her breath.

Marco blinked in confusion and twisted on his feet to glance at the TV screen, an eyebrow raising as he spotted the end credits for _How to Train Your Dragon 2_ rolling across the screen.

"You're…crying because of a movie?"

Star gave him a pouty scowl and shoved his shoulder. "Oh shush."

His lips twisted into a wry smile and he shook his head. "Seriously Star, you know this is fake, right?"

"Says the guy who cries at the beginning of _Up_ every single time we watch it."

"…I'm going to bed."


	51. Calzont

**Calzont: based on that one scene from that one show where the guys are in band uniforms and ordering stuff in a drive through. I literally am going to go nuts until I remember the name of the show. Because Megan told me to.**

 **SonicELITE: The hat is now in California and I am very pleased.**

 **CrazyBlueOwl: Thank you so much, I'm glad you like them!**

 **EVAunit42: I don't feel that way as of right now. But thank you.**

 **Liliana Dragonshard: You have really good ideas, but they're all too long for me to do as a one-shot. Plus, reversing their roles doesn't really make for a plot, unless I just remade an episode. But keep em coming!**

 **I don't own Star vs. the Forces of Evil. When is it coming baaaaaccckkk?**

* * *

GENERAL POV

* * *

"Oh shut up you idiots I'm pulling up to the window!" Ludo snapped, waving an impatient hand at the minions behind him as he slowed his vehicle to a halt in the drive through of Calzont.

A hush fell through the back of the car as the monsters fell silent, turning all eyes to their boss while Ludo leaned out the car window.

"Welcome to Calzont, would you like to try our new calzone that tells you who you're most likely to marry?" questioned the very bored woman through the speaker.

Ludo scoffed and drummed his fingers against the side of the car. "Yeah right. Now listen, let me get 23 calzones, 23 milkshakes-"

Loud humming interrupted the tiny demon and he scowled, turning a slow but menacing glare around to Lobster Claws, who was clearly humming a song that was stuck in his head, his claws drumming on the side of the car. It wouldn't have been a problem, had his claws not been the size of trash cans and making a horrible clanking sound.

"Lobster Claws, if you don't stop drumming you're not getting fries," Ludo threatened.

He turned back to the speaker without waiting to continue the order. "23 fri-"

A particularly loud clank made Ludo flinch and he gritted his teeth. "You know what? 22 fries. 22 fries. You didn't think I would do it, did you?"

Lobster Claws ever so slowly pulled his claws into his lap and stared sheepishly at the floor. "Sorry, Master Ludo."

Ludo merely scoffed. "Whatever. I call the kids meal toy."

* * *

 **SCRUBS. IT'S SCRUBS.**

 **Please leave prompts? I'm in a writing mood today, thanks to freaking Flavia.**


	52. Truth Spell

**Truth Spell-request submitted by a guest reviewer. I am so sorry I haven't updated in a month guys. Things have been really hectic lately, and I've been having some really rotten feelings towards a couple of things lately. But school is over for the summer, and I thought that I should take a moment to update at least one of my stories. Hopefully I can go back to updating once or twice a week. The ending of Star vs. the Forces of Marco will be posted no later than this time next week, and if it isn't up I give people permission to angrily message me.**

 **CrazyBlueOwl: Flavia is one of my top favorite people on the planet, and one of my best friends. But anyway, I might need a little more info than just an AU. It all depends on what idea you have.**

 **SonicELITE: I've never seen Scrubs either, that scene is just everywhere.**

 **Guest: Here you are, sorry it took so long!**

 **Liliana Dragonshard: It's on my list, but I'm not sure I'll actually be able to think of a good excuse. I will keep it in mind though!**

 **Author Smimph: I'm really not much of a video game person, sorry!**

 **CelticReaper: *applause* Good prompt is good.**

 **EVAunit42: I feel like a Whose Line story would be complicated….**

* * *

GENERAL POV

* * *

"Jackie…I like you…JACKIE! Heeeyyyy…uh…so I have this thing I need to tell you...I really like you….hey girl. S'up? You're hot."

"Marco?"

The teenager in question whirled around, a hand on his heart and his eyes wide. Star stood in the doorway of his bedroom, arms crossed and an amused smile on her face. "Why are you talking to your mirror?"

Marco groaned and flung a hand backwards at the glass, nose wrinkling in annoyance. "I've decided that I really want to tell Jackie how I feel about her…but I don't know how to say it right, so I'm practicing."

"You think saying 'you're hot' is the way to tell her?" Star asked incredulously, an eyebrow lifting up her forehead.

Marco buried his head in his hands, cheeks flaming red. "You weren't supposed to hear that," he protested in a muffled voice.

Star giggled and leaned against the doorframe, glancing down at the wand she held in her hands. "Why can't you just tell her? Like, without practicing?"

Marco dropped his hands and shrugged, sinking onto his bed and clasping his fingers together as he leaned on his knees. "Every time I do I freeze," he explained. "I either stop talking completely and she thinks I'm a loon, or I change the subject to something school related."

"Is she really that hard for you to talk to?" Star asked in disbelief.

Marco snorted, giving her a wry smile. "You're one to talk, miss 'I can't get more than six words out when I talk to Oskar.'"

Star waved an impatient hand at her friend. "What if I used a truth spell on you?" she proposed. "So that way you _have_ to tell her what you think?"

Marco rubbed a hand thoughtfully over his chin and pondered the offer. "How long would it last?" he asked the princess.

Star grinned. "That's the beauty. You set a key word and once someone says it the spell snaps for good. So you talk to Jackie and then just meet me at my locker right after and I'll say the word for you. But it's gotta be something weird, so that she doesn't say it while she's talking to you."

Marco snorted. "That's an easy one. Ludo. Don't think I'm going to be mentioning your arch nemesis while telling my crush that I like her."

Star smirked. "I would hope not. Tomorrow, then?"

"Tomorrow," he agreed. "Thanks, Star."

* * *

"Okay Diaz," Marco murmured to himself, bouncing on his toes the next morning and watching as Jackie Lynn Thomas approached her locker. "You can do this. Star did the spell, the second she asks you a question you have to tell the truth."

With a deep breath, the boy strode over to the blonde and leaned on the locker next to hers. "Uh…morning, Jackie."

The girl perked up from behind the locker door, books clasped in her arms, and smiled. "Oh, hey Marco. S'up?"

"I wanted to actually talk to you about something," Marco found himself saying.

Jackie pursed her lips and glanced behind her. "I've got a few minutes before I meet Janna for homeroom. Is it about that math project for next week?"

"No, it's not."

When he didn't elaborate further, Jackie gave him a bewildered look and shut her locker, leaning her shoulder on it and facing Marco. "Okay, then what did you want to tell me?"

Marco swallowed, his mouth opening to answer before he could think to change the subject. "I have a crush on someone," he admitted, his heart hammering against his chest.

Jackie's eyebrows shot up and a grin stretched on her face as she leaned over to punch him lightly on the shoulder. "Good for you Diaz! Who is it?"

"Star."

Whoa.

Whoa, whoa, _whoa._

What the _hell?_

Marco froze in his spot and felt every ounce of air rush out of his lungs. His ears completely tuned out Jackie's words about how he should talk to Star, and Marco found himself struggling to explain what he had just admitted.

There was no way…the spell had to have worn off, or it didn't work on humans, or maybe Star had said it wrong and it had ended up being the opposite of a truth spell.

"Marco?"

He shook his head quickly and focused back on Jackie. "Uh…yeah?"

"I said, I'm not going to tell her, if that's what you're worried about. That's something for you to tell her. But it looks like you're pretty relieved to get it off your chest."

Marco stammered for the right words. "Uh…uh yeah. Thanks Jackie. I uh…before you go, can you do something for me?"

Jackie nodded and shifted the books in her arms. "Shoot."

"Ask me when I stopped sleeping with a stuffed animal."

The girl stared at him for a moment before obliging in his odd request, which he would never have told her the real answer to unless he was under a truth spell. "Okay, when did you stop sleeping with a stuffed animal?"

"I still do."

Amusement sparkled in Jackie's eyes as the bell rang. "That's cool," she promised him. "I do too. See you in math, Diaz. And good luck with Star!"

Dropping her skateboard to the ground, Jackie skated off in the direction of her homeroom, leaving Marco to sink against the lockers and press a hand to his forehead.

"Hey Marco!"

Star came pounding down the hallway towards him and Marco nearly slipped as he raced to stand up straight. _God_ he wanted her to say Ludo's name before she asked him how it had gone.

"Did it work?" Star asked, wrapping her fingers around the straps of her backpack and tilting her head, blue eyes sparkling in curiosity.

"Yup," Marco managed, forcing himself not to stare at her. "Can you break the spell now, so I don't go spilling all my secrets to the world?"

Star giggled quietly. "Sure. Ludo."

Marco didn't feel any different physically, though he knew instinctively that the spell had worked and that what he had just admitted to Jackie had been the truth, no matter how scared he was to admit it.

"So?"

Marco blinked, returning his gaze to Star, and shrugged. "She uh…doesn't feel the same way. Thanks for trying though, Star. I appreciate it. A lot."

Star pouted, crossing her arms and walking alongside Marco as they headed towards homeroom, which they were very late for. "Boo, I'm sorry. But the spell worked? How did it feel?"

Marco took a shaky breath and shot her a weak smile. "It worked. And I've got a lot that I need to figure out."

Even he knew that was the understatement of the century.


	53. Boy's Night Out

**Boys Night Out; prompt requested by CelticReaper. I'm fairly amused by this one, and I'm sorry it took so long for me to get it out. I know I promised to be better about that, but I've been caught up in sobbing over Prison Break and Leonard Snart and trying to appease my mother's need for me to have a job.**

 **Imaginativegoody2shoes: I'm glad to have been of some assistance!**

 **Axis25: Nah, usually truth spells only work when the person actually knows the truth. Marco and Star don't actually know the winning lottery numbers, so his answer would have truthfully been "I don't know."**

 **Guest: Yay! I'm happy you liked!**

 **Lolbit: That's a little too close to M rated for me to put in here.**

 **EVAunit42: It's on my list now. That's a really cute alternative to your first idea, and I really like it!**

 **Lals: Thank you so much!**

 **I don't own Star vs. the Forces of Evil but IT'S COMING BACK IN JULY AHHHHHH**

* * *

GENERAL POV

* * *

"Star, is this really necessary?" Marco complained, tilting his neck so that Star could get at his tie. "Your dad knows me, and I thought he liked me?"

Star shrugged and patted Marco's tie once she had looped it around his neck. "He does, Marco. This is more of a…getting to know you dinner, according to him."

The young adult sighed and lifted his hands to gently cup Star's cheeks and pull her to him for a quick kiss. "Yeah, well if I don't come back, I'm sure you can use a spell to find my body."

Star giggled and smoothed back a strand of his hair, kissing his forehead. "You'll be fine. He can't legally kill anyone on earth, only on Mewni."

Marco paused. "You're kidding, right?"

"Only if you'd like me to be. Now go."

Star turned and shoved him out of their apartment, shutting the door as fast as possible so that he couldn't get back inside.

On the other side of the door, Marco rolled his eyes and adjusted his tie again, nearly jumping a foot in the air when someone spoke up behind him.

"Mr. Diaz?"

The 24-year-old turned to find an older man with a suit on behind him, a pair of tiny devil horns sprouting from his hair the only indication he wasn't human. "King River has requested your presence at dinner."

Marco gave the man a thin smile and brushed off his suit jacket. "Uh…yeah. Yeah, he did. Where am I supposed to meet him?"

The messenger produced a scroll from seemingly nowhere and handed it over, clasping his hands behind his back once Marco had taken it. "The directions are all here," he informed him. "Don't dawdle; reservations are at seven."

Marco unfurled the scroll in his hands, glancing over the directions and noting that he knew exactly where the restaurant was. Glancing at his watch, however, he grimaced. The restaurant was a fifteen-minute walk, and since his car was in the shop being de-butterflied (another spell gone wrong), he was forced to travel by foot. It was close to ten minutes to seven, and unless he ran he wasn't going to make it in time.

"Sir, do you have a mode of-?"

Marco trailed off, as the messenger was nowhere to be found, and he sighed, glanced over the scroll once more, and shoved it into his inner suit pocket. "Guess I'm speed walking," he muttered.

His feet clattered down the stairs, echoing against the empty stairwell. Marco's tie slid from under his jacket and bounced lightly as he walked, exiting the apartment building and turning right, his steps hurried and his eyes locked on his watch.

It was a gorgeous night out, but Marco didn't have time to enjoy it as he hurried along, pausing at the cross light and tapping his foot impatiently as he waited for it to switch to green, giving a tense smile to the woman next to him.

He watched anxiously as the stoplights around him slowly started flicking to the colors he needed them to be, and right as his crosswalk sign came on, a man in a baseball cap and sunglasses went flying by and snatched the woman's purse from her hands.

"Hey!" she shrieked.

Marco froze, eyes switching between the retreating man and the light. With an inner curse, he took off after the purse snatcher, his tie flapping up and over his shoulder and his shined shoes scuffing at the pavement.

The dude wasn't fast, and Marco caught up quickly, taking the guy down with a flying tackle and pinning him to the pavement, knees shoved against the dude's shoulders as he wrenched the purse from the man's grasp.

"Someone call the police!" Marco called over his shoulder to the growing crowd of onlookers. "Keep him here; I have somewhere to be."

He got to his feet, letting a rather buff looking woman take his place, and turned to hand the purse back to the lady, who had caught up and was looking at him gratefully. "Thank you so much, young man," she said breathlessly. "Please, can I give you some kind of reward?"

Marco shook his head rapidly, a grim smile on his face. "Thank you but no thank you. Not necessary. Now if you'll please excuse me, I have a prior engagement."

He took off again, readjusting his tie and making it across the street without any more problems. He set a fast pace once more, glancing at his watch and noting that he only had five minutes to cover a ten-minute walk.

Marco huffed and brushed at his forehead, wiping off the sweat that had accumulated during the chase, and he glanced down at his watch again as he turned another corner, bumping squarely into an older man and sending him to the pavement, scattering groceries and books to the ground.

After steadying himself, Marco looked down at the older gentleman and winced, seeing the man shakily attempting to gather up his spilled fruit. "I'm so sorry sir," he said quickly, getting down on one knee and grabbing at a couple of oranges. "I wasn't paying attention at all."

The man chuckled hoarsely. "Quite all right, my boy," he rasped. "Dressed all nice like you are? I bet you have a fancy date. Go on, I'll be fine."

Marco hesitated only a moment before turning his attention to the man's books which, he noted with amusement, were about parallel universes. "Other worlds?" Marco asked curiously, gathering the books into his arms and standing, helping the man to his feet with a free hand.

The man smiled and gathered up his bag of fruit in his arms. "Yes," he murmured. "I find them fascinating. Now really, I can take my books. My car is just over there."

He nodded behind Marco and the young man smiled, ducking his head. "It's okay sir," he said softly. "I knocked you over, it's only right I at least take these to your car for you."

The elderly gentleman smiled warmly and nodded, his eyes twinkling. "Very well. Thank you, my boy."

Marco nodded and glanced halfheartedly at his watch, watching as the numbers flicked over to seven pm. Biting his lip, Marco looked away and waited as the man opened his car and moved aside, gesturing for Marco to set the books inside. He did so and, with a farewell to the kindly old man, was on his way once more, less than two blocks from the restaurant.

"You'll just be fashionably late, Diaz," Marco muttered to himself, bending a little to dust the dirt off his knees. "I'm sure the king will understand."

Images of him being turned into a toad flashed through Marco's mind and he grimaced, wrinkling his nose and picking up the pace a little more.

When he finally made it to the street with the restaurant on it, he sighed in relief and finally slowed a little bit, his breathing heavy as he struggled to once again make himself look more presentable.

"Give it back!"

Marco stumbled in his tracks. "Don't look across the street, Diaz," he grumbled to himself, twisting his head away from the residential area.

"Tommy! No!"

The girl's shriek rang through the air and Marco was across the street faster than he could fathom, rounding on the larger boy that was bearing down on a small, pigtailed girl who was clinging to a broken doll, tears in her eyes.

"Pick on someone your own size," Marco growled, fists clenching in irritation. "Or better yet, don't pick on anyone and get a life."

The kid couldn't have been more than fifteen, but he still sneered up at Marco like he was in charge. "Yeah? And what are you going to-?"

With one swift move, Marco had the boy twisted around, one arm pinned behind his back and Marco's forearm wrapped around his upper chest. Marco smirked and leaned over. "That. Beat it."

He shoved the teenager aside and the kid bolted, leaving Marco to crouch down next to the little girl and pull the doll into his fingers, mulling over the broken halves. "You know, I bet my girlfriend could fix this for you," he told her.

The little girl's eyes lit up. "Really?"

Marco smiled at her and nodded. "Yup. She's magic."

The girl giggled, wiping at her tears, and took the doll from Marco thoughtfully. "It's okay," she decided softly. "Lucy needs to learn better self-defense anyway. How did you do that?"

Marco smiled and glanced over his shoulder as who was presumably the girl's mother appeared from one of the houses, her eyes concerned. "Well, I'm a karate teacher. We give lessons. I bet your mom would sign you up if you asked nicely."

The girl grinned and darted around Marco to her mother, who was watching him warily. "Mom! This man teaches karate and he made Tommy leave me alone, even though Lucy still got broken."

The woman lifted an eyebrow, taking the doll from her daughter and pursing her lips. "Really? Thank you, sir."

Marco got to his feet and nodded. "No problem."

"Mom, Mom, can I take karate lessons?" the girl pleaded, tugging at her mother's hand.

Her mother hesitated, glancing at Marco, and he held up a hand, digging into his pocket for his wallet. One more minute wasn't going to kill him, he reconciled with himself as he pulled a business card from his wallet.

"It's all very safe and I make sure that we keep costs affordable," Marco promised, handing over the card to the woman. "Think about it. It's a good way to teach her self-defense."

She smiled, taking the card from him and then grasping her daughter by the hand. "I will," she decided. "Thank you again."

He nodded and watched them go inside before sighing, his shoulders slumping and his smile fading as he looked at his watch and realized he was over fifteen minutes late.

"King River is going to hate me," he groaned, burying his head in his hands.

"On the contrary."

Marco yelped and spun around, hands going up in a defensive position until he spotted River standing there, out of his usual regal wear and in a simple suit and tie instead, the crown still perched on his head. "King River?"

The older man smiled and tilted his head. "You were tested, Marco. And you passed."

Marco lowered his hands slowly, bewilderment etching it's way onto his face. "I…huh?"

"Should have given him an intelligence test," muttered the messenger from directly next to Marco, making the man yelp again and nearly punch him in the face.

"Relax, son," River soothed him. "Yes, this was a test. You could have abandoned everyone in need tonight to make our dinner, but instead you chose to be late and do the correct thing. You are exactly the kind of person I want my daughter marrying."

Marco froze, his jaw agape. "You…what?"

The messenger rolled his eyes and a moment later was an old man-the same old man that Marco had helped on the street. He watched in slight awe as the messenger shapeshifted again, first into the bully and then into the purse snatcher. "You…?"

River smiled. "Yes. You're a good man, Marco. I'm quite happy Star found you."

Marco shook himself from his disbelief and ran a hand through his hair. "I…thank you, sir. Did…did Star know about this?"

"She was made aware, yes," the king informed him.

Marco pouted for a moment before River's words caught up to him. "Wait…marry Star? How did you-?"

"I know the look, son," River chuckled. "Plus, we've had a man trailing you for a week. He saw you buy the ring. That's why I arranged this."

Marco swallowed hard, his face paling a little. "I…sir, I swear, I was going to talk to you and the queen first. But I-"

River waved an impatient hand. "I know, Marco. Just know at this moment that you have our complete blessing. You are an absolutely worthy young man for our daughter."

Marco breathed a sigh of relief, feeling like the weight of the world had been lifted from his shoulders. "Thank you, sir. Thank you."

River nodded. "Of course. Now, I understand my daughter infested your cars with butterflies. Would you like a ride back to your apartment?"

Marco gave the king a smile. "That would be great, sir. Thank you."

As Marco climbed into the royal coach behind the king and the messenger, he finally managed to breathe normally again.

Now if only he could figure out how to propose…

* * *

 ***see chapter 30 for proposal prompt***

 **Reviews are very welcome!**


	54. Buns

**Buns, a prompt by MasterDuelistMichael (I switched it up a little from your original prompt because wedding scenes are not my thing lol. Hope you don't mind!)**

 **I swear I update this and then I blink and a month has passed. I'm so sorry this hasn't been updated in so long; I was travelling and all that nonsense, but that's no excuse.**

 **MaFx98: Don't worry about it! I'm glad you will continue to review!**

 **AnimalKrazed: That's a very vague prompt lol but I'll see if I can come up with something.**

 **EVAunit42: I have your prompt in the works, but since it's going to be revolving around a play I want to research it a little more and pick something fun. It'll be up asap.**

 **Queen Got Swag: Omg I love this. I'll see what I got, but I might end up using a different song for comical purposes haha. Also your profile pic is my child. I love him.**

 **I don't own Star vs. the Forces of Evil.**

* * *

GENERAL POV

* * *

Marco Ubaldo Diaz was the most oblivious man in the entire world, and it was starting to get on Star's absolute last nerve.

Seriously, she put rolls in the oven, she was constantly showing him baby toys, she left a can of Prego spaghetti sauce directly next to her side of the bed, asked him for pickles and peanut butter, and Marco _still_ had no idea that Star was almost a month into her pregnancy.

She didn't want to come right out and tell him; she had heard earth pregnancies were more fun to announce if you did it in a creative way. Of course, it would be even more fun if Marco could figure it out, but she had been trying for almost two weeks, since she had found out, and nothing had come from it.

Star sighed and leaned against the stair railing, crossing her arms over her stomach and humming a lullaby absentmindedly while Marco walked down the stairs, dressed in his karategi and tying his black belt around his waist.

"Heading out?" Star asked, reaching out and tugging at his sleeve to untwist it.

Marco smiled and leaned over, kissing Star on the top of the head. "Yup. I'm scheduled to help Maisie get her yellow belt today. She's really excited."

"I'll bet," Star chuckled. "Listen, Marco, before you leave, I-"

A crashing sound came from outside and, with a quick look at one another, the couple darted to the backyard, Star grabbing her wand from the kitchen counter on the way.

Monster attacks didn't happen much anymore for the two of them; after Buff Frog had sided with them in more than a couple of fights, the monsters had slowly switched sides and stopped fighting.

Every now and then, however, a new monster who didn't know of the alliance would try and attack Star, knowing that if they took out the future queen of Mewni they would pretty much decimate the kingdom. Star's father was nearing the age of his retirement from the throne, and was now merely waiting for Star to hit the age of 30 before he turned it over to her.

The monster in the yard now was massive, covered in spines and a bright aqua color that would have been gorgeous had the thing not been snarling at them and swinging clawed hands in their direction.

Marco instantly leapt into the air, delivering a swift kick to the monster's face and sending it reeling a few feet.

Normally Star would have joined right in. But this was the first monster that had fought them since she had discovered she was pregnant, and now Star bent a little at the waist and started firing off various attacks from her wand.

For a few moments it seemed they were winning; the monster clearly didn't expect a fight from the two of them, and it faltered more than once.

Star had to keep moving to prevent herself from getting hit, and eventually her steps took her into the still dewy grass, her bare feet sinking into the soft dirt and making her stance unstable.

The monster managed one good hit that slammed Star in the face and sent her crashing back into the fence that encircled the yard. She instinctively dropped the wand on the way to the ground and curled her arms around her stomach as a means of protection.

Her wand was out of reach when she looked up, and the monster loomed over her. The woman flinched and scurried back until her shoulders hit the fence.

Marco had hit the porch several feet away and was now rubbing his head wearily. The monster growled in Star's face and she was mortified when a whimper spilled from her lips; she wasn't scared of the monster at all. She was scared it would hurt her or her slowly developing baby.

The whimper made Marco look up in an instant though, and his eyes locked with Star's across the yard. His gaze moved over her at lightning speed, at the way she cradled her stomach, how she was hunched over, and his jaw line tightened.

With a scream, he was hurtling over the porch railing and full on tackling the monster to the ground, hitting with a thump and flipping over the back of the creature.

Star scrambled to her feet and grabbed at her wand as she ran for the house, darting inside and grabbing her dimensional scissors from her purse.

Back outside, she waited until Marco was in optimal kicking position before slicing open a portal, and he kicked the monster square in the face and sent it flying back through into another dimension. Star closed the portal quickly and then dropped her hands to her sides, one cradling and wand and the other holding the scissors.

"Star?"

Marco's hand settled lightly on her shoulder and he turned her around, clasping her upper arms in his hands and rubbing a gentle thumb across her skin as he studied her before pulling his wife into a crushing hug.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he murmured into her neck, stroking her hair when she clutched at his back.

"I…I wanted it to be fun. Like all the other couples do. But you didn't _get_ any of them."

Marco pulled away and stared at her, eyebrows furrowed for a moment until realization dawned in his eyes. He promptly slammed his palm into his forehead and groaned. "Oh my _god,_ I'm an idiot!"

Star managed a small smile and he shook his head, leaning down and pressing a firm kiss to her lips. "Next time, just smack me and tell me before we get attacked, okay?"

She giggled and buried her face in his shoulder. "Okay."


	55. Let it Go

**Let it Go- Prompt from Queen Got Swag.**

 **Oh look, it didn't take a month! I've been in more of a writing mood lately, so feel free to send in the prompts. I'm actually going to put a list up of the fandoms I'm currently in on my profile page, so if you don't want another SVTFOE prompt you can take a look at that page and send me a PM asking for something else, and I'll see what I can do!**

 **EVAunit42: Thanks for understanding! I'm looking into two or three different plays and trying to see which one I like best, but chances are it'll end up being something Disney, since that's what I know best and is T rated or less haha.**

 **Anon a Moose: Wow okay first of all I love long reviews, thank you! I'm going to try to address everything I can. Grammar is my biggest pet peeve in the world; no matter how many times I comb through a chapter there's still always a mistake I find later on. Frankly I'm just glad I catch most of them haha. The General POV is kind of a habit from how I used to write; I almost never write in First Person anymore, save for original stories, because I think it's easier to write from third person. To be honest I should probably get rid of it, it's just become so ingrained in me that it looks weird without it (but I'll start trying). If you have suggestions for a first person story, though, I'd totally take them! I can absolutely write more of Penny; I like her too. Actually, I put her in this chapter! And good. Alfonso and Ferguson are the second best ship on the show, right after Starco, and I love getting people to ship them!**

 **Whew. As always, I don't own Star vs. the Forces of Evil.**

* * *

Star wasn't sure how long she had been standing in the doorway of the living room, groceries in one hand and car keys in the other. Long enough for her foot to go to sleep, that was for sure. But she just couldn't bring herself to move away.

Marco currently had Penny scooped up in his arms, the six-year-old giggling hysterically as her father swung her around the room and at the same time tried to keep the too small tiara from slipping off of his head.

"Let it goooooo, let it GOOOOOO, can't hold back anymore! Let it goooooo, let IT GO, turn my back and slam the door!"

He dramatically swung Penny out, his hands clasped firmly around her middle to keep her from falling, and she laughed harder as the tiara fell over his eyes. "Daaaaaddddd, you're not singing the right part!"

Sure enough, the music had switched to the instrumental portion where Elsa was building the castle, but Marco just laughed it off and dragged Penny closer to him, moving the tiara from his head to hers.

"See, _that's_ why you're the princess and not me," he joked, plopping her on her feet. "Show me how it's done kiddo."

Penny shrieked and began dancing around the room, singing in near perfect harmony with Elsa as the song went on. Star finally chuckled, startling her husband to no end as she appeared from the shadows.

"I dunno, Marco. You make a pretty good princess."

Marco chuffed and swooped Star towards him by the waist, dipping her backwards just slightly so as not to spill the groceries and pecking her forehead. "Yeah right. I'm more like Sven than anyone else."

"Sven's my favorite!" Penny yelped from the couch, where she was bouncing up and down. "Hi Mom!"

Marco laughed as Star waved. "Glad to hear it sweetie. Get down before you fall, okay?"

Penny stuck her tongue out but did as he asked, clambering to the floor and spinning around as the song concluded. Marco grabbed the groceries from Star and they left their daughter to the magic of _Frozen,_ moving into the dimly lit kitchen to put the food away.

"You sure got her worked up," Star laughed, leaning over and tossing produce into the fridge. "How are we supposed to get her to bed?"

Marco grinned and handed her a head of lettuce. "You know she always falls asleep by the time Anna gets frozen."

Star had to admit that was true, and she kicked the refrigerator door closed, tilting her head as the opening notes of "Fixer Upper" rang out from the living room. "Maybe. But there's a first time for everything."

"Moooommm! It's your favorite song!" Penny yelled from the couch. "The one that reminds you of Dad!"

The adults burst into laughter and walked hand in hand back to the living room. "That's not true, he reminds me of "Love is an Open Door," Penny," Star protested, ruffling the girl's hair fondly.

Penny pouted and wiggled into the middle of the couch so that her parents could sit on either side of her. "That's not right. Cause then Dad would be Hans. And Hans is a jerk."

Marco forced himself to keep a straight face as he looked up at his wife, an eyebrow raised. "I thought Hans was the good guy?"

"Noooooo," Penny protested, shoving her father's arm lightly. "He's evil!"

"Oh yeah," Star mused, tapping her finger to her chin and glancing up at the television in time to see Anna and Kristoff get tossed into the pit to be married. "You're right then, this is the song that reminds me of Marco."

Marco leaned over and kissed his wife on the cheek, much to Penny's disgust, and they fell silent for the rest of the movie.

And sure enough, Penny was out cold by the time Anna was frozen.


	56. Guilt

**Guilt- Marco's POV from Star vs. Echo Creek**

 ***says it wouldn't take a month* *basically took a month***

 **I honestly? Have no idea where the time goes? I feel like I updated two days ago. I've been fairly busy lately, and I've also been trying to work on one of my original stories, so sorry I'm not churning this out as quickly (also I've gotten caught up in Voltron whoops)**

 **Blood Moon Ball: I'll get to working on it, I promise! And thank you!**

 **SonicELITE: Some chapters just aren't as good as others. I kind of agree with you, but not everything has a "WOW" moment I guess.**

 **EVAunit42: I promise you I'm working on it (I currently have four pages done) but it's taking a little longer because I have less inspiration for it and I don't know their classmates that well. And I did consider Hamilton, actually, but I've never seen it so *shrug***

 **I do have prompts I need to get to, but with the most recent episodes that came out I had a little bit of inspiration so, spoilers for Star vs. Echo Creek ahead!**

 **I don't own Star vs. the Forces of Evil.**

* * *

Marco tried very hard not to panic most of the time. When you had laser puppies constantly at your heels, monsters busting down your front door every other week, and somewhat insane princesses casting spells whenever they wanted, you couldn't afford to panic.

This wasn't like all the other times, though.

Star was gone. And it was pretty much all Marco's fault.

Yeah, she had been the one to demolish the police car. He knew that. But he also knew that Star tended to take things seriously in regards to Earth custom (fortune cookies, anyone?) and his commentary on what would happen if she got caught was what probably sent her running in the first place.

No—not probably. It _was_ what sent her running.

And Marco felt beyond guilty about it.

He had been all over town searching for her, stopping first at his own house (knowing Star, he wouldn't have been surprised to find her there) and then checking the school, Alfonso's house, Ferguson's house, and even knocking on the door of Jackie Lynn Thomas to see if she had gone there.

That encounter had ended with him blushing furiously and face down on the pavement.

Now, after hours of hanging up "Missing" flyers (approximately $13.27 at the office supply store for copies), he was finally approaching the police station, the last few signs clutched in his hands and his legs shaking as he ascended the stairs.

The police officer at the desk looked up at him when he entered, pausing in his typing and raising a curious eyebrow. "Can I help you, young man?"

Marco nodded wearily and gestured to the flyers vaguely. "My um…my friend Star. Was the one that accidentally destroyed your police car earlier today. And she ran away. And I can't…I can't _find_ her, and I'm worried about her, and she's from a different dimension so she has _no_ idea how Earth works and how nasty some people can be and-"

"Hey."

Marco glanced up to find that the officer had moved around the desk and was now kneeling in front of him, a gentle hand squeezing his shoulder. "Don't worry, kid. We'll find her, okay?"

He bobbed his head and passed over a flyer to the officer, who led him over to a couch along one wall of the precinct and then stepped up to a few other officers.

"What did you say your name was?" one of the officers asked him a moment later, her eyebrow quirked in Marco's general direction.

"Um…Marco Diaz."

"And her full name?"

"Star Butterfly."

"Where did you see her last?" the first officer asked.

"Like I said…she kind of um…broke your car. So…the taco place."

The officers glanced at one another and nodded, returning to their work. Marco sighed and glanced down at the flyers again, thumb tracing over the pages thoughtlessly.

He shouldn't have told her all that stuff about prison. He shouldn't have scared her like that. He really needed to start thinking twice about what he said about Earth, because Star considered him pretty much an authority on how it worked.

A warm cup of hot chocolate was moved in front of him and he glanced up to find one of the cops there, holding it out to him with a small smile. "We'll find your friend, honey," she promised. "Would you like to call your parents and let them know where you are? It is almost midnight."

"They already know," Marco assured her, taking the cup and staring down at it for a second before taking a drink. "They're staying home in case she calls or shows up there."

"All right. Don't worry, okay? The vast majority of runaways show up within 24 hours, often times not far from where they started."

Marco knew that wasn't entirely true, but he appreciated the officer trying to comfort him and he gave her a smile so that she would leave him alone.

Honestly, though, Marco thought to himself, setting the cup aside and curling up against the couch while gazing down at the flyer, he wouldn't believe Star was safe until she was right in front of him. This was his fault, and he wouldn't stop worrying until she was safe.

So when he woke up again nearly eight hours later to the sound of her voice, it was all he could do to keep from tackling her to the floor in a hug.

* * *

 **Marco would totally feel guilty for that whole thing, don't lie. He's so good *sobs***

 **I would also love if y'all would go check out my original story Little Magic on my Fictionpress account, TakingOverMidnight. I'm actually updating regularly again, so yay! *shameless self-promotion glitter***

 **Reviews are much welcomed!**


	57. Jelly Beans

**Jelly Beans: "I stopped at your informational booth and am eating all of your complementary jelly beans." My professor told us a story about himself that basically started with that sentence, and I thought it would be a cute prompt. Sorry if it takes longer to upload; school just started so I'll be trying to get these up while I can.**

 **Guest Sorta: Yes, Taking Over Midnight is absolutely a Gravity Falls reference.**

 **The Creativity Queen 101: So…basically just Star and Marco dating?**

 **Catsrawesome: Thank you so much for reading them all! As for your prompt idea, I'm going to have to pass. I've never been a fan of those kinds of stories, if only because they logically make no sense and I honestly feel like they're really tacky.**

 **I don't own Star vs. the Forces of Evil.**

* * *

She had been standing there for ten minutes. Just standing there, not talking to him, not reading any of his informational pamphlets about his karate class, and certainly not signing up for one of his classes.

No. She had been standing there, for ten minutes, not doing anything.

And she was eating all of his complementary jelly beans.

This chick was starting to get on Marco's last nerve, but he couldn't snap at her because of all the people flooding the booths that were situated around the school gym. He had been invited by the principal to hold a booth on career day, and while this woman was definitely old enough to have her own booth, he couldn't imagine what it might be.

So here he was, talking through his teeth as politely as possible to all of the kids and parents and mentally slapping the jelly beans from this girl's hand.

She wasn't even just grabbing a handful and eating all of them; no, she was picking through them one by one and pulling out all of the pink and blue ones, leaving the rest in the bowl and munching on the ones she grabbed until they were gone.

When he finally had a lull in signups, he leaned over the table and snatched the woman's hand from where it had been picking through the jelly beans, his eyes furious. "Those jelly beans are only for people who are actually interested in signing up for a karate class," he hissed at her, keeping one eye on the people milling about.

She looked at him with startled blue eyes, pulling her hand away from his. "Sorry," she said sincerely. "I meant to speak to you, but it wasn't about karate so I didn't want to interrupt you. I didn't think you would mind."

Marco frowned, furrowing his eyebrows and crossing his arms over his chest. "What do you want?"

The woman's eyes flickered over his face and she shook her head. "Never mind. Don't worry about it. Sorry about your jelly beans."

Marco dropped his arms to his sides and watched her slump away, a coil of guilt swirling in his stomach. She stopped at a booth for a fabric store downtown, which Marco found oddly fitting, but before he could do anything else he was surrounded once more by curious parents and children asking about martial arts.

When the event died down and he found himself cleaning up, Marco darted through the exiting people and over towards the booth that held all of the sewing supplies, his sneakers slapping on the floor of the gym and echoing in his ears.

He slowed as he reached her booth, head tilted curiously as he watched her speak to who he assumed was a colleague. "Excuse me?"

They both looked up and the woman he had spoken to started, fingers instantly going to smooth over her hair, combing the few stray blonde hairs that had found their way to her face. "What do you want?" she asked, her eyes stormy.

Marco hesitated, glancing back over his shoulder. "I wanted to apologize. You know, for snapping at you about the jelly beans. I was just…wondering what it was you wanted to ask me."

She bit her lip, stacking a bolt of fabric onto the card her friend was holding steady. "Um…I just…wanted to know if you wanted to grab coffee some time. But it's okay, I know you don't want to. So I'll see you around."

Marco froze in his spot, internally cursing himself with every word he knew. It was only when the two of them began to walk away that he moved again, leaping forwards and settling a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Wait, hang on. I do."

She stiffened a little and Marco immediately dropped his hand, wringing the hem of his shirt in his fingers while he babbled. "I mean…I was annoyed that you were eating all of my jelly beans because I had bought a bunch of them with my own money, but you seem really nice and you're incredibly pretty, so yes. I uh…I would love to get coffee with you some time."

The woman slowly turned to him, waving her friend on, and Marco could feel himself sweating under her gaze. With no other idea of what to do, he stuck out an awkward hand and smiled weakly. "Marco Diaz."

She lifted her eyes to his and gave him a lopsided grin, clasping his hand in hers softly. "Star Butterfly. I run a fabric store downtown. Sorry again about your jelly beans."

Marco chuckled and tucked his hands into his pockets, offering the crook of his arm to Star. "It's okay. How about we get that coffee now? If you're up for it."

Star giggled and tucked her arm through his, slinging her purse over her free shoulder. "Yeah. I'm absolutely up for it."

"You can have the rest of the jelly beans if you want, too. I don't know what to do with the rest of them."

"Holy shit, I love you."


	58. The Lion King

**The Lion King- prompt from EVAunit. I'm sorry this took such a long time, and I'm sorry it's so short, but musicals aren't exactly my forte haha. If I get any more inspiration for this, I'll come back and edit it. I'm so sorry this took so long and you aren't getting a lot out of it.**

 **THExPOTxHEAD: I sincerely hope you did not break said phone. I'm glad you enjoyed it.**

 **Dr. Evil: Added to my list, and I really love that idea, so expect to see it soon!**

 **ThunderMist36: Actually Star said it haha. More about getting jelly beans than actually loving Marco.**

 **I don't own Star vs. the Forces of Evil.**

* * *

"Star, how many times do I have to tell you, we aren't using real lions in this musical?" Marco yelped, diving away from a massive male lion that was bounding around the living room.

Star pouted and zapped the lion into a pile of kittens, which instantly began rolling around alongside the laser puppies. "Well then what's the point of doing _The Lion King_ if we aren't using actual lions?"

Marco sighed in exasperation and pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers. "The point is to give the students a chance to work on their acting skills. And clearly they need it."

The two of them glanced through the living room and into the dining room, where Ferguson, wearing a fake mane, was perched on top of the table, a script in one hand. He had been cast to play Pumba, and he had yet to learn the meaning of "overly dramatic." He had also yet to figure out that he was not getting to wear a mane.

Marco was playing Simba and Star had been cast as Nala, much to their mild embarrassment. Jackie, who Marco had wanted to play Nala, was cast as Simba's mother, and Brittany, Oskar, and Janna had been cast as the hyenas while Alfonso had been cast alongside Ferguson as Timon. Other students from other classes were playing the parts of Scar, Mufasa, and Raffikki, but for now their class was focused on their parts.

They had gathered at Marco's house early on Saturday afternoon to go over their lines and try to get better at working with each other, save for Janna, who was also part of the art department and was helping to prepare backdrops.

The group had been there for less than an hour and already it was mass chaos, Brittany loudly proclaiming that she shouldn't be around such peasants, Ferguson refusing to give Marco the mane, and Jackie tripping multiple people with her fake tail.

Alfonso had already lost his glasses twice, and was now blindly crawling around the floor in an attempt to find them for a third time.

All in all, it was utter chaos, and Marco didn't know how they were going to get anything done. They hadn't even opened the script yet, and he had a feeling they weren't going to.

"HEY!"

Marco jumped a good foot in the air at the sound of Star's voice, pressing a hand to his pounding heart and giving an impressed nod as everyone shut up.

"Good. Okay guys, Marco was nice enough to let us work here today," Star dictated, her voice somewhat stern, "so let's get our butts in gear and get moving! We don't have all day!"

"Well technically-"

"Do you _see_ 24 hours left on that clock before tomorrow, Alfonso?"

"No."

"Exactly. So come on people, let's get going!"

The group muttered amongst themselves briefly and Marco watched in slack-jawed awe as Ferguson took off the mane and set it aside, Jackie handed over Alfonso's glasses, which had been on the windowsill, and Brittany actually put away her mirror.

"How did you do that?" Marco asked Star, gazing over at her.

Star shrugged. "Just copied what my dad does when he wants something from people. Not too difficult."

"And you think you'd make a bad queen."

"Shut up."

Marco chuckled and shook his head. "Okay, okay. Let's just hope we can get everything together and prepared for the dress rehearsal tomorrow night, then."

"Hakuna matata, Marco."

"You don't even know what that means!"

"If someone would give me a script I would!"

"Hey Star, are you and Marco going to practice your kissing scene?" Ferguson teased, tossing the princess a script and grinning wickedly.

….it was going to be a long afternoon.

* * *

 **So I decided the other day that I'm going to try and get this story to 100 one shots, and then I'll stop writing for it. SO, if you think you have a really good idea for the 100** **th** **one (which is still some ways away) let me know. And keep sending me other prompts!**

 **Reviews would be very motivational, and thank you for putting up with my erratic upload schedule.**


	59. Love Potion

**Potion- prompt from Blood Moon Ball, who I really should have gotten to ages ago haha. I hope this will suffice.**

 **Guest Sorta: I actually know very little (read: nothing) about Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, otherwise that would be really cool! Like…really cool. I could try to do something for it, but since I know very little about the story I wouldn't get your hopes up. But it's a really awesome concept. Maybe you could write it!**

 **Dr. Evil: Haha it'll be up next**

 **ImALazyProcrastinator: It's now on my list. I love that idea! Kids wanting their parents happy always tugs at my heart strings.**

 **Blood Moon Ball: Haha I'm sure there are a ton of plotless kissing stories with Starco.**

 **I don't own Star vs. the Forces of Evil.**

* * *

Love is a strange thing.

It comes in many forms; platonic love, romantic love, familial love, lust (which probably wasn't considered love at all, but it was something).

One thing Star had discovered since coming to Earth was that love couldn't be forced upon people. Either someone loved you, liked you, was apathetic towards you, or downright hated you. She wasn't certain why things were like that, but Marco had explained that it had something to do with feelings and these Earth things called "hormones."

So no, humans couldn't force love.

And Star was kind of starting to wish that Mewmans couldn't either, especially after Marco had accidentally drank the love potion meant for Oskar that she had left sitting next to the apple juice in the fridge.

To be fair, it wasn't her fault that the potion looked exactly like apple juice. That was just how the spell went, and she couldn't change anything about that. But she probably should have labelled it so that Marco wouldn't have started following her around looking like a lost puppy.

The way the potion worked was that whoever drank it would fall in love with the first person they saw for a full 48 hours, and the effects of it couldn't be reversed, so all Star could do was wait the potion out.

Which...wasn't all that bad. At least she could fool around and tease Marco a little.

Thank god it was the weekend.

"Hey Marco?"

The teen almost tripped over himself getting to her, literal hearts where his pupils used to be, another effect of the potion. "Yes, Star?"

Star bit her lip to hold back a smile and gestured at the kitchen. "I'm kind of hungry. Could you make me a sandwich?"

"What kind?" he asked, standing up straight and looking like he was going into battle.

"Um…surprise me."

He was gone in a flash of red, clattering around the kitchen and slapping various meats onto two slices of bread. When he reappeared he was empty handed, but he led Star into the kitchen and pulled out the end chair for her, gesturing to the seat with a flourish. "Lunch is served, my lovely."

Star couldn't help the flush that spread over her cheeks at the pet name and she took the seat quietly, staring at the somewhat wobbly sandwich in front of her. "You didn't make yourself one?"

Marco shook his head abruptly, tucking his hands behind his back. "No. This is all for you."

Star chewed on the inside of her cheek for a second and then looked back up at Marco. "Okay then…I want to eat outside instead. Can you go get a-?"

Marco was off, running about the house and flying past her a few minutes later with an armful of items, disappearing into the backyard. When he came back in, he had a grin on his cheeks that lit up his eyes. "Ready?"

Star blinked and stood from her chair, moving to take the sandwich with her, but Marco grabbed it before she could. "Allow me."

She followed him outside and her breath caught. How he had managed so much in only a few minutes, Star would never know, but strung around the backyard were dozens of tiny crystals strung up on a wire that caught the sunlight and tossed it over the yard in a thousand rainbows.

Marco had laid out a blanket under one of the trees in the yard and scattered daisies around the edges of it, probably picked from his mother's garden.

"Marco, you didn't have to-"

"Anything for my princess," Marco interrupted her softly, gazing at her from under lowered lashes.

She could almost believe he meant it, if not for the hearts in his eyes.

Star was starting to hate herself for making the potion in the first place.

His kindness went on for the whole weekend, first getting her everything no matter when she asked and then attending to the needs she didn't even ask about, like giving her a neck rub after a particularly rough encounter with Ludo and his crew.

It was mid-Sunday afternoon when Star realized that she didn't want the potion to wear off. Or rather, she didn't want the sincerity to wear off. She wanted Marco to like her because he wanted to, not because he was being controlled, and the moment she realized it she froze, her breath catching in the back of her throat.

Marco, who had been strumming one of Star's favorite songs on his guitar, looked up at her curiously. "Star? Are you all right? Do you need anything?"

Star hesitated, ducking her head and furrowing her eyebrows. "Um…no. No thank you, Marco."

Marco nodded and his eyes flickered back to the strings of the guitar, plucking at them thoughtfully. Star watched him, mentally calculating when he would turn back to normal, and realized that she had about half a day left; he had taken the potion on Friday evening.

"Hey Marco?"

He looked up, heart eyes catching her gaze. "Yes?"  
Star flinched under the reminder that he wasn't himself and fiddled with the hem of her dress. "Can we go on a walk or…or go to dinner or something?"

Marco smiled widely and set the guitar aside, bowing low to Star and holding out a hand. "Absolutely. Where to, my princess?"

"Wherever. Let's just…take our time."

* * *

Three and a half hours later found them wandering the park in the slowly fading sunlight, fingers curled around each other and hips bumping as they walked. Star knew they didn't have much longer before the potion wore off, and she shivered a little in anticipation.

Seconds later a gentle weight settled over her shoulders and she looked up to find Marco draping his hoodie over her shoulders, hair dangling over his eyes and a soft smile playing at his lips. "Cold?"

"Um…a little. Thanks."

"Of course."

Star hesitated, curling her fingers around the sweatshirt and glancing at the ground. "Hey Marco? Can I ask you something?"

"Anything. You know that."

"So…I…you're under the influence of this love potion, and I don't know how much of this you'll remember when you come out of it, or if you'll remember any of it, but I just…I know it's not right, but the potion and how you acted…it just made me realize."

"Realize what?" Marco asked when she paused for too long.

She looked up at him to find that she really couldn't see him at all, and she couldn't remember when the sun had actually set. "I realized that I really like you."

Her heart hammered in her chest but she had finally said it, and it felt like a thousand pounds had been lifted from her shoulders. Before she was aware of what was going on, Marco's fingers were curled around her chin and he was drawing her closer, breath ghosting over her lips as he spoke.

"Good. I like you too."

His mouth pressed against hers delicately and Star sighed, sliding her hands up his chest and entangling her fingers into his hair, his hoodie slipping to the walkway.

It was only when she realized she was pressed flush against him and her teeth were toying at his lip that she remembered.

" _Shoot_ ," she hissed, stumbling backwards and falling onto the ground as her heel caught on Marco's hoodie. "Marco, I'm so sorry."

"Whoa, hey, what for?"

She scrambled backwards, her back smacking into a park light and making her wince. "I…you're under the influence of the stupid love potion. I shouldn't be kissing you."

"Star…."

She shook her head abruptly, pressing the heels of her hands to her eyes. "No. It's not right. I'm sorry."  
Tender fingers curled around her wrists and pulled her hands down. "Star, look at me. Please?"

She shuddered and lifted her eyes to his face, illuminated by the lamp above them. She drew her gaze up and over his lips, traced the faint freckles on his nose, and then lifted it to his eyes.

His very heart free eyes.

"You…you're…"

"Been potion free for the last twenty minutes," Marco murmured, a wry smile sliding across his cheeks. "And yes, I do remember everything. You owe me several dozen snacks and a cat."

Star swallowed hard, wrapping her fingers around his hands and pressing her lips together. "So you…?"

"Yeah. I do."

Her smile could have lit up the entire world, it was so bright, and moments later Marco found himself yanked up against her, one hand keeping himself up and the other clutching her back in a tight hug.

"I should have tried the potion thing a long time ago," Star mumbled into his shoulder.

Marco snorted and shook his head. "I've got to agree. But Star?"

"Yeah?"

"No more drugging me, okay?"

"You take the fun out of everything, Diaz."


	60. Falling

**Falling- Prompt submitted by the anon Dr. Evil. I'm so sorry I haven't been updating y'all. Things have been hectic lately and I've been struggling with some internalized things but I still want to keep going with this.**

 **Commander Chandell 919: Well I'm glad you're enjoying all of these. I hope to keep up the work you enjoy.**

 **Blood Moon Ball: Thank you!**

 **ThunderMist36: If something like that really happens in the show I will fricking sue Disney XD because it would be the sixth episode that would be the same as my stories and that's just not coincidental.**

 **ImALazyProcrastinator: Of course! I'll be getting to that one next.**

 **RoaringWall: A please would be nice, but I'll consider it.**

 **I don't own Star vs. the Forces of Evil.**

* * *

Marco couldn't help but notice that ever since the whole "Princess trying to steal Star's face" event, Star had become incredibly wary around him.

It wasn't noticeable at first; her grabbing his hand when they traversed a rather rocky terrain he had assumed was her keeping her balance. Her freaked out reaction when he fell down while roller blading was just her being concerned.

It wasn't until she actually cried when he took a very uneventful tumble out of a tree in the backyard while setting up a hammock for his mom that Marco realized what was going on.

He caught her in her room that night, leaning against the door frame and tapping on it lightly with his knuckles. "Hey Star?"

She looked up with a smile, shoving her math homework aside and spinning around in her chair to face him. "S'up, Marco?"

He hesitated, shoving his hands into his sweatshirt pockets and stepping inside. "Can we um…can we talk?"

Star frowned and curled her legs under her in a pretzel position, tilting her head. "Sure. What's going on?"

Marco sat down on her bed so that he was facing her, his hands moving from his pockets to clasp in his lap. "Are you…okay? It seems like you've been really nervous lately."

When Star didn't respond, he looked up to find her staring at the floor, eyebrows furrowed and teeth gnawing at her lower lip. "Star?"

She peeked up at him and gave a sheepish smile. "I'm sorry. I didn't…I mean, I didn't want to worry you. I'm just…"

She trailed off, spreading her hands helplessly and leaning back against the chair. "I'm afraid," she admitted after a moment, her voice low.

"What of?" Marco asked.

Star went silent, tugging on a strand of hair and threading it through her fingers aimlessly while she thought. "Of…you. Getting hurt. Because…because of me."

Her voice cracked and Marco was on his feet in an instant, moving to kneel in front of her and rub her shoulders, all the while gazing at her and trying to catch her eyes. "Hey. I'm not going to get hurt," he promised softly.

She shook her head and lifted her watery gaze to his. "You almost did," she reminded him. "You almost fell off the roof. That's…that's a long fall. And you wouldn't have been up there if I hadn't been here and you weren't _safe_ with me and-"

"Star."

She closed her mouth and swiped at the tears under her eyes. "What?"

"You caught me," Marco whispered. "You're the reason I didn't fall. You're the reason I never fall, Star."

"But I'm the reason you almost do in the first place," she hiccupped, her fingers tightening around Marco's.

"Nah," he said, smiling warmly. "I put myself in those situations. I don't have to, but I do. Any time I fall, it's never because of you. It's because I care about you and want to help."

She shivered and leaned down, wrapping her arms tightly around him and burying her face into his shoulder. He tugged her down until she sank to the floor next to him and then entangled his fingers into her hair, returning the hug.

"I'm sorry, Marco."

"It's okay, Star," he mumbled. "I promise."


	61. 5 Signs of Santa

**Sorry it's been so long! I've had a lack of inspiration for this show, but I'm doing a 12 Days of Christmas Challenge on tumblr, and one of the fics I posted was Star vs., so here we go!**

 **ImALazyProcrastinator: I'm so so so sorry that I still haven't gotten to yours. I promise I will try my best to get it up asap.**

 **Blood Moon Ball: Those were great suggestions, I'm sorry I wasn't able to get to them. Thank you so much though!**

 **ThunderMist36: It was...a joke? Also, none of the things have been "realistic" if we're talking normal. Babysitting Buff Frog's babies, getting wings, going camping...all things I wrote about that then happened. There's more, but I can't remember right now.**

 **StoryReader48: Thank you so much! I know how you feel, I'm usually turned off by collections of one shots, but those are what I write best, so I ironically have like three different one shot series happening right now for three different fandoms.**

 **Anonymous: I am all caught up, so shoot!**

 **AmyNChan: Thanks!**

 **I don't own Star vs the Forces of Evil. Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, and Happy Holidays!**

* * *

"How can you not believe that Santa Clause is real?" Star asked in disbelief, following Marco around the house as he put up various Christmas decorations in the windows. In her hands she held about 6 yards of glittery garland, which she would drape around the windows and cut to the right length whenever Marco stepped away. "I mean, even parents believe in him!"

Marco snorted, shaking his head. "Star, trust me. Santa Clause is just a myth that parents make up when their kids are little so that they believe in magic."

"Why wouldn't they? Magic is real."

That gave Marco pause, and he glanced back at Star, at the wand she had strapped to her hip by a belt, at the wings that had slowly grown to protrude over her shoulders. "Well…yeah…in some dimensions. But on Earth, it's just an illusion. Santa Clause is a myth."

Star scowled and crossed her arms, smacking herself in the face with her remaining garland. "Oh yeah? Well, when he comes down that chimney tonight, I'm going to prove to you that he _isn't_ a myth."

Marco gave a small chuckle, lighting a candle in the window before moving on to the next. "Okay, Star."

He didn't expect her to keep her promise, waking him up at 3 in the morning by bouncing on his bed and shaking his shoulders. " _Marco!_ " she hissed, a grin as bright as day on her face. "He's here!"

"Star, go back to bed," Marco grumbled, trying to roll over and bury his face back into his pillow. She promptly ripped it away, causing his face to hit the mattress, and walloped him with it.

"Come _on!_ "

With a groan, Marco pulled himself from bed and slipped his feet into his reindeer slippers that his parents had insisted he wear, noting with sleepy amusement that Star was wearing a Christmas tree nightgown and sparkly white slippers that looked like snow. He had outright refused to wear pajamas other than his usual ones, and alongside Star he felt almost underdressed. "Okay," he mumbled, pressing the heel of his hand to his eye. "Show me the proof."

Star yanked him by the wrist to his window, flinging it open and bringing in a gust of freezing air that blew back her hair. Her wings smacked into Marco's face and he grunted, stepping around her to peek outside. "What am I looking for?" he asked, rubbing his arms against the chill.

"There!" Star whisper-yelled, pointing to the snow-covered ground. "Hoofprints, from his reindeer!"

Marco squinted, eyeing the prints in the dark, and shrugged. "Could have been a deer," he commented. "Lot of those around here at this time of the year."

Star huffed and shut his window, dragging him to the hallway and into her room, where they wound up the staircase to her upper tower and looked out _that_ window. "There!" she said triumphantly, pointing to the part of the roof they could see. "Boot prints in the snow!"

Marco raised an eyebrow and looked over at her. "You know Dad was on the roof this morning putting up lights, right?"

Her groan was almost enough to make Marco laugh, and she pulled him back down her staircase, out of her room, and to the top of the main staircase. "Be quiet," she whispered, resting both hands on the railing and starting to creep down the stairs. "We don't want to scare him."

Marco rolled his eyes but followed her lead, crouching with both hands on the railing and sneaking down the stairs with her. She stopped about halfway, sliding her hands to clutch at the inner poles of the railing, looking like she was caught in a jail cell. Marco paused next to her, their shoulders brushing, and he gave her a sideways look. "What?"

She pressed a finger to her lips, eyes sparkling in the light of the Christmas tree, and pointed silently to where Marco's mother had laid out cookies and milk. The cookies were gone and the milk half drunk, and the smirk Star shot him was triumphant.

He retaliated with, "My dad always eats the cookies," in the lowest whisper he could manage, trying not to wake his parents up. They had caught him more than once trying to open his presents as a kid, and he didn't want them to think he was trying it again.

Star gave him a look that would have burned him in place if looks could kill, and pointed to the tree this time, at the presents in the front that just had a large tag stating "From Santa" on them, then at the filled stockings by the chimney.

"Also my parents," he murmured, feet starting to go numb from crouching for so long. "Can we go back to bed now?"

Star stared at him for a long moment, then looked back at the tree and presents, and her shoulders slumped dejectedly. Marco felt kind of bad, and reached out to settle a hand on her arm. "Star, I-"

She clapped a hand over his mouth and pushed him down on the stairs, practically sitting on top of him. Marco tried to protest, but she pointed eagerly and he humored her and twisted to look at the fireplace.

Only to see a big fat man in a bright red suit with a sack putting something into his stocking, eyes twinkling. For a minute, Marco couldn't breathe, certain this guy was a burglar.

But then, he ducked over, waddled into the fireplace, and vanished. Star released her hold on Marco and flew down the stairs, literally, hovering at the window and peeking out with a gleeful look on her face. Marco joined her in time to see a giant sleigh vanish into the night, pulled by nearly a dozen reindeer.

She turned back to Marco with a triumphant look, arms crossed over her chest as she settled back down to the floor. "Told you so."

Marco sighed and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, looking over at the presents under the tree and the filled stockings. "Yeah. Yeah you did. I'm sorry."

Star smiled in delight and grabbed him by the hand, pulling him towards the trees. "What do you say we open some presents now?"

Marco chuckled softly and tugged Star back, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "No way, Mom and Dad would kill us. Let's just go back to sleep, okay?"

She huffed but nodded, unwillingly yawning and causing Marco to yawn as well. "Okay," she managed to get out. "But can we…sleep down here? I don't wanna go back upstairs."

He smiled and led her to the couch, grabbing a blanket off the back of it and sinking down next to her. "Yeah. Here."

She leaned against him and allowed him to drape the blanket over the two of them, sound asleep before Marco could even lean against the couch's armrest. He smiled, wrapped a tight arm around her to keep her from falling, and yawned again, falling asleep to the lights of the Christmas tree and the warmth of his best friend.


	62. Dates

**Dates: Prompt submitted god knows how long ago by ImALazyProcrastinator. I'm finally, finally getting to it, and I'm so sorry it took this long lol. I decided it could be really cute as a New Years prompt (though I'm posting this New Years Day instead of New Years eve…)**

 **Anonymous: Both are really good ideas, and I was actually thinking about doing something with the Birthday Clown episode. I shall put them on my list and see what I can do.**

 **TRIGGER WARNING FOR THE FOLLOWING REVIEWS. SKIP TO THE LINE BREAK IF YOU DON'T WANT TO READ.**

 **Unknown: Okay, your review took me a really long time to think of a polite response to, and I need everyone to read this: your request was incredibly insensitive and thoughtless. I wrote that one shot when I was in a very dark place. Actually, any of my stories that have self-harm or self-deprecation in them have been written when I was in a bad mindset. So you asking me to write more stories about someone self-harming, you saying that you're** _ **aching**_ **for** **characters to self-harm? Is disgusting. Cutting isn't a fetish or fun little thing to read about. It's a real thing that real people go through every day, and it's something that's very difficult for me to talk about, so the only way I can get it out is to write. Think before you ask an author to write things like this.**

 **The Creativity Queen 101: Aside from the fact that I have little to no knowledge of bulimia or anorexia, this is another request I refuse to touch.**

 **Say it with me: MENTAL DISORDERS THAT CAUSE BODILY HARM TO PEOPLE ARE NOT SOMETHING YOU ASK AUTHORS TO WRITE ABOUT. These topics can be severely triggering to people. When I write about depression or anxiety, it comes from my own personal experience and of my own accord. I post trigger warnings accordingly, but if I personally don't have experience with a mental disability, I do not write it into fanfiction.** _ **Especially**_ **not on request.**

 **Sorry for the rant, but I had no other way of responding to these anons. And this is something I feel everyone should be reminded of now and again: authors are people with real emotions. Not writing machines.**

 **Anyway. On to the actual fluff of a story I wrote.**

 **I don't own Star vs. the Forces of Evil.**

* * *

"Seriously, you're not going out? It's New Years eve, Dad!"

Marco rolled his eyes and leaned over, ruffling Alyssa's hair. She ducked out of his reach and stuck her tongue out. "Well first of all, I have no date," he chuckled. "And second, you're with me this weekend. Why would I want to miss out on that, when you go back to your mother on Tuesday?"

Max snorted. "Yeah. Tuesday. Which means we're stuck with you for three days after this. Seriously, Dad, go _do_ something."

Alyssa nodded in agreement with her twin, kicking back on the sofa in Marco's apartment and stealing the bowl of popcorn from Max's lap. "He's right, for once," she admitted, ignoring her brother's protests. "You need to get out more."

Marco laughed and shook his head. "Yeah right. Besides, even if I did want to leave you kids, who do you propose I go out with? Mrs. Herman next door?"

The teenagers wrinkled their noses simultaneously at the idea of the withered astronomy professor next door, her constant ranting about Pluto's stability as a planet, and her planet shaped lollipops from Halloween's past. "Ew, no," Max said, lunging for the bowl of popcorn and promptly falling off the couch as his sister ducked away from him. "Never."

"Besides," Alyssa countered, putting her feet on top of Max's head and holding him down. "We already got you a date."

"You _what_?!"

Max popped up from the floor, knocking Alyssa's legs askew and sending the popcorn flying, a shit eating grin on his fifteen-year-old face. "Yeah! She's the art teacher at school, I have her for my pottery class! She's super nice, and single." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, ducking as his sister swatted at him.

Marco stared at his children for a long moment, trying to find some way to protest. "You…but…won't it be weird if I go on a date with one of your teachers?" he tried feebly, knowing it was useless. Jackie's stubbornness was one things both twins had gotten.

"Nope," Max declared, popping the 'p' and finally helping his sister pick up the spilled popcorn. "Considering once this semester is over I won't have her again, and Alyssa already had her, it's totally cool with me."

Marco rubbed his forehead wearily, sighing. "Okay, fine. If it'll get you two losers to leave me alone for once about my dating life. When is she-?"

The doorbell rang through the apartment, matching smirks sliding across Alyssa and Max's faces. "That's her!" Alyssa declared, jumping up from the ground and dumping the popcorn into the trash. "I'll hold her off, Max, make Dad look…less like Dad."

"Hey!"

Max ignored his father and yanked him into the bedroom while Alyssa tossed the bowl in the kitchen sink and sprinted for the door, pulling it open with a flourish and smacking herself in the face with her ponytail as she turned. "Happy New Year, Miss Butterfly!" she said cheerfully. "Come in!"

The young woman chuckled, stepping inside and waiting for Alyssa to close the door behind her. "Happy New Year to you too, Alyssa. How are you?"

Alyssa grinned and led her to the living room. "I'm great. Dad was really happy to hear that he had a date tonight!"

Miss Butterfly smiled warmly and sat down on the couch, swinging her hair over her shoulder so she wasn't sitting on it. "I'm glad to hear it. It's a little weird, though, to have your students set up a blind date for you with their father."

"Boy I'll say," Marco muttered as he stepped out of the room, Max at his side. He glanced up from where he had been adjusting his button down and blinked, staring at the teacher in front of him.

She was tall when she stood, probably not much shorter than him, and her hair took up about half of her body. It was swept back with a firework clasp holding it in place, and she was dressed casually, in a pair of nice jeans, ankle boots, and a flowery blouse that drifted like satin. Her eyes were a startling blue, and the birthmark on her cheek was shaped almost perfectly like a heart. Marco realized he had been staring too long and reached a hand out, giving her a smile. "Marco Diaz," he introduced. "Though I'm sure the kids told you that."

She smiled and took his hand more firmly than he had anticipated, shaking it. "Star Butterfly."

"That's…quite a name."

"Dad!" Alyssa hissed.

Marco cleared his throat and turned to the twins, standing innocently in front of the couch, their white hair making them look like angels but their dark eyes filled with an evil only a parent at the mercy of their children could identify. "You two. Behave. We'll be back before the final midnight countdown."

"That's lame," Max said with a frown. "You should stay out past then. We'll just have a party while you're gone."

"Do you want me to go out at all, Maxwell?"

Max shrank under the usage of his full name and Marco could see Star biting back a smile from the corner of his eyes.

"11:30," Alyssa declared. "See you then."

"And if Jackie calls?" Marco asked, raising an eyebrow.

"We'll tell her you went on a hot date!"

"…okay."

They finally managed to push Marco and Star out the door, slamming and locking it shut behind them, and Marco realized too late he hadn't grabbed his keys before the fact. "Well," he chuckled nervously. "Looks like we're not driving anywhere _or_ getting back inside."

Star raised an eyebrow as they descended the stairs to the lobby. "We could take my car."

As they stepped outside, however, Marco realized it wasn't incredibly cold at all, and he shrugged. "Actually, it's fairly nice. Why don't we just walk somewhere to eat?"

Star tilted her head nonchalantly. "Fine by me."

They walked in silence for a minute, one that felt like an eternity, and Marco couldn't help but wonder if Star felt as awkward as he did. What did one _do_ on first dates? It had been almost seventeen years since he had one, considering he and Jackie had only been married for a year a half before having the twins, and had then broken up when they were only ten. So that was…almost 5 years of not dating.

Marco grimaced internally. Jesus, _that_ long? How had he gone that long without a date? Sure, his career as the administrator of his self-defense school he ran was a full-time job, but it wasn't like he wasn't done with work by six every night.

"Um…Marco?"

He glanced up to find that they had stopped in front of a Thai restaurant that was fairly quiet, and he gave Star a sheepish smile. "Sorry…lost in thought."

She studied him for a minute, a knowing look crossing her face that Marco really didn't like. "First date since your divorce?" she guessed.

He spluttered in protest for a moment before nodding in defeat, leaving Star to smile. "It's okay," she promised. "The kids told me it's been a while. I just thought it would be worth a shot, but if you want to go home, we could-"

"No!" Marco yelped, grabbing for the door handle of the restaurant. "I want to do this. I…I mean…um…"

Star grinned and stepped past him, through the door. "Okay. Come on then. Don't want to Thai up the line."

Marco froze, watching as she walked away, and found that he was blushing like a teenager again. Did he _seriously_ just get flustered by a _pun_?

"Hold up!" he managed, trotting after her. "Thai don't want to eat alone!"

He could almost hear her rolling her eyes, and he suddenly felt like maybe this wasn't such a bad idea after all.


	63. Positivity

**Positivity: prompt submitted by Anonymous.**

 **Oh look, more information came out for one of the new episodes. And look, it's basically the premise of my Amnesia story from chapter 18! That I posted over a year and four months ago! How convenient (mines probably gonna be better. Just saying. Cause mine has actual Starco)**

 **SonicELITE: I honestly can't remember what you're talking about, so it's all good. Thank you for reviewing!**

 **ImALazyProcrastinator: Yay! I'm so glad you like it! I hope your day went well regardless of family (I feel that). Also, even if it had been more polite, I would have still said no firmly. Those are just not the kinds of things you request from authors.**

 **I don't own Star vs. the Forces of Evil. I'm so ready for the next half of the season to come out.**

* * *

"All right, spill," Star demanded, thumping her hands down on the kitchen table and nearly scaring Marco half to death.

When he had regained his composure and his grip on his spoon, he gave Star a baffled look. "Spill _what_ , my cereal?"

Star shook her head and sat down across from him, fingers twisting around each other as she contemplated what to say. "The…when you had the…little you on your neck."

Marco wrinkled his nose and set the spoon down, reaching up and touching his neck with a shiver. "Do we _have_ to talk about that?" he asked in disgust.

Star pursed her lips and folded her hands in her lip. "He…it…made you say that…you're what, not…happy with your body? And you cover the mirror? I…I guess I was just…curious about why."

Marco froze, face flushing, and ducked his head. "It uh…it's a normal teenager thing," he tried feebly. "No big deal, right?"

"But…but it is," Star protested, eyebrows furrowing. "On Mewni they always taught us to like our bodies, because there are so many different kinds of species that we should just…love what we see."

Her voice lowered and she traced a pattern absentmindedly onto the table. "That doesn't seem like the case on Earth."

Marco frowned and pushed his cereal bowl away, setting the spoon down in it carefully and getting up from his seat. "I really…don't want to talk about this Star, okay? Just leave it alone."

She sat, stunned as he walked away. Marco had never once blown off her attempts to learn about Earth culture, teaching her about different countries and religions and different things that each gender went through. He had rarely shied away from even the most embarrassing of topics, so the fact that he refused this? Meant that it really affected him negatively.

Star was determined to put an end to that.

* * *

When Marco first stepped out of the shower to find a sticky note on his mirror, he assumed it was his mother leaving him chores to do when he got home from school. He ignored it at first, toweling off his hair and avoiding his reflection, only really looking at it once he had a shirt tugged over his head and a toothbrush in hand. It wasn't from his mother.

 _You look awesome today! Love, Star_

Marco gave a quirk of his lips and pulled it down, studying it for a moment before opening one of his more vacant drawers and tucking it inside.

The next note showed up that night, while he was getting ready for bed, and this time he plucked it from the mirror the moment he noticed it hanging there.

 _I care about you. Love, Star_

He flushed and ducked his head, sticking the note in alongside the other one.

It became a regular occurrence after that, twice a day Marco finding notes on his bathroom mirror, each one complimenting him. Sometimes it was physical compliments, other times something about his personality. Each one went into the drawer, no two alike, until finally he grew curious enough to approach Star about it.

She shrugged when he approached her, hands twisting in the hem of his shirt and head tilted. "You needed to know that someone thinks you look nice," she said simply, her shoulders lifting. She hunched over the kitchen island and laced her fingers together, eyes studying the countertop. "I didn't…want you to be sad, I guess."

Marco stared at her for a moment, a smile gracing his lips, and he leaned over the opposite side of the counter, settling his hands over hers. "Star," he laughed when she looked up. "Thanks. I mean it. It…they made me smile."

Star brightened and straightened up. "You mean it worked?" she asked in excitement.

Marco shrugged. "Maybe not in the way you're thinking, but yeah. I don't…hate looking at the mirror. Not as much, anyway."

Star practically squealed and darted around the counter, hugging him tightly. "Yay! Good. I'm going to keep leaving you notes though."

Marco chuckled and hugged back, smile widening. "I don't doubt it."

* * *

 **Make sure you leave prompts! I'm still going for 100, regardless of how long it takes!**


	64. Valentine

**Valentine**

 **Hahahahahaha what what do you mean it's been almost a month since I last updated no way pssshhhhtt *sweats* Seriously I apologize, klance has taken over my life so finding motivation to work on Star vs. is more difficult. But I'd still like to keep going.**

 **TheOneAndOnly1993: That seems like it would take longer than a chapter, but I could always try to narrow it down to something small!**

 **Guest Sorta: Man if that was true I wouldn't be a broke college student lol I wish**

 **Queen Got Swag: I can try, but no promises lol. Inner thoughts aren't exactly my forte, but I'm willing to attempt it.**

 **Jlajoice1: Thanks so much! (does the JLA in your name stand for justice league action or am I just trash?)**

 **I don't own Star vs. the Forces of Evil.**

* * *

Valentine's Day was a tradition on Earth, Star had learned. One where someone gave candy or flowers or cards to someone they loved and cared about. She had asked Janna about it, about giving cards to friends, and had been told that once you left elementary school, you really only gave Valentine's to your parents, grandparents, and significant others.

It took Star a long time to work up the nerve to create Marco's card, to detail inside what she wanted to say to him. It was frilly, with lace on the edges and glitter for words on the outside, and she was proud of it. She had been clever, she thought, putting a picture of nachos on the outside and doodling the caption, "Would it be cheesy if you were my Valentine?"

She decided to give it to him the day before, so that he would have the night to mull it over, so she could breathe, but when she hopped down the stairs to give it to him, she found him tugging on a suit jacket. "Where are you going?" she asked, slipping the card behind her back.

Marco looked up at her with a grin. "Taking Jackie to dinner. She can't go out tomorrow night, because her grandmother is coming in to town, so we decided to celebrate Valentine's Day tonight."

Star slumped imperceptibly, fingers tightening on the card. "You guys…really like each other, huh?"

A sheepish blush slid over his cheeks and he rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah. Yeah, we do. Hey, did you need something? Before I leave? You looked like you came downstairs for a reason."

His blush was gone and he was studying her thoughtfully. Star ducked her head, rocking back on her heels. "Um…no. Just…wanted to know if you wanted to go dimension hopping for candy."

Marco smiled warmly. "We can do that tomorrow, if that's cool."

She offered him a weak grin. "Yeah. That'd be good. Have fun on your date."

He thanked her and left, leaving Star to pull the card from behind her back and stare at it for a long moment before furiously ripping it in half, glitter flying across the stairs. She sank down onto the top step and took a shaky breath, trying to push back tears.

Marco was happy. That's all that mattered.

She just wish he could have been happy with her.


	65. Gone

**Gone**

 **Soooooo I know I have a couple prompts to get to (I'm in a super hyped Star vs mood right now so they'll probably be up in the next like, 48 hours or so) but I absolutely needed to get this out after watching the season finale.**

 **RobLebron: I wouldn't say Marco is dumb or a jerk. He's just a guy who's had a crush on another girl his entire life. Hell, I never notice when people are flirting with me, even if it's blatantly obvious.**

 **Loveyourwriting: I ship Starco too, but I feel bad for Jackie. She needs more love, because she is a genuinely good character. I ship her and Janna lol**

 **JayFan67: Um YES I love that prompt lol. And Mike's hat was lost somewhere between Oregon and Canada. We haven't heard from it since uhhhh last May? So RIP the hat.**

 **SEASON TWO FINALE SPOILERS AHEAD.**

* * *

She was just….gone.

No warning beyond, "I'm leaving," no goodbye hug, no remnant of anything remotely hers. Just a confession of a crush and a blast of magic.

And she was gone.

His parents ended the party instantly, shooing everyone but Jackie out the door and silently moving about the house, picking up after their guests. Pony Head gave him a sad smile and vanished through a portal, leaving Marco alone on the floor of the hallway, back slumped against the wall and knees drawn up to his chin.

Jackie sat down next to him silently, mimicking his position and looping her arms on top of her knees. They were quiet for a moment before she spoke. "You like her."

It wasn't a question, but Marco still found himself spluttering in protest. "What? No way! Jackie, I've had a crush on you for like, a decade! You're my girlfriend!"

She slid a sad look his way, one that didn't sit well in his gut, and pursed her lips. "Marco, you'll drop everything for her. Ditch anyone for her. _Do_ anything for her. She's your best friend. You barely said an entire sentence to me before the whole 'double head' incident."

Marco shuddered. "Can we _please_ not bring that up again?"

Jackie ignored his diversion and continued. "It's okay, Marco. I'm not mad. The way you ran up the stairs after her just now…it kind of confirmed what I've known for a long time. What everyone has known for a long time."

Marco managed to lift his head and look at her, eyes clouding with tears. "Jackie, I'm s-"

She shook her head, running a thumb over her necklace thoughtfully. "I told you. It's okay, Marco. Can we still be friends though? None of that…awkward post-break-up stuff?"

Marco winced and pulled his knees tighter. "I…why are you being so cool about this?"

She nudged him, a gentle smile on her face. "I know you, Marco. Maybe not as well as Star, but enough to know that you would never hurt anyone you cared about on purpose. You can't help the way you feel."

"What about you?"

Jackie raised an eyebrow and a shoulder, glancing away to gaze out the window. Her teeth worried at her lower lip and she tugged on her necklace. "I think this'll be good for me too. I've got…I've got some things I think I need to figure out. And dating would probably interfere with that anyway."

Marco frowned. "Can I help?"

She laughed at that, dropping her necklace and reaching out to squeeze his hand, gently, none of the former romance present in their touch. "I'll be okay," she promised. "It isn't really something you could help with more than moral support anyway."

He tilted his head, curious, and her lips twitched a little, eyebrows furrowing. "Just…need some time. To figure out who I like. Uh…gender wise, I mean."

"Oh."

He hadn't seen that coming but then, neither had she, apparently. He squeezed her hand again and then dropped it, giving a weak grin. "Well if you uh…if you need me…I'm here. As…as a friend."

"Good."

She leaned over and pressed a chaste kiss to his cheek before pushing to her feet and holding out a hand. He clasped it and allowed her to drag him up, clapping a hand onto his shoulder. "Whatever Star has going on? She probably needs you, Marco. In more ways than one."

Marco glanced back at his room, where he knew his dimensional scissors from Heckapoo were, and then back at Jackie, giving her a smile. "Yeah. I…thanks, Jackie."

He walked her down the stairs silently and watched as she skateboarded away, wheels rattling on gravel pavement and fading as he shut the door. His parents looked up at him from where they were gathering the rest of the dishes in the living room.

"Everything okay, honey?" Angie asked.

Marco clenched a fist, something bad settling in his gut. He'd need help on this one; he wasn't going to go flying in alone, not when Star and her family might be at risk. "I don't know," he admitted.

Angie and Rafael glanced at one another and abandoned the dishes, surrounding their son and pressing him between the two of them tightly. Rafael ruffled his hair and gave him a small smile. "Go ahead. We know she needs you."

Marco glanced between them anxiously. "But you guys said-"

"We know," Angie murmured, pressing a kiss to Marco's scalp and then stepping back, wrapping her arms around herself. "But you're going to go either way, Marco. We all know that. Just…be safe, okay?"

Marco nodded numbly and darted to them, kissing them both quickly. "I will. Love you guys."

He vaulted up the stairs, but was halted halfway by his father's voice. "Marco!"

His foot spun on the step and he looked back at his parents, watching him with something akin to pride in their faces. "Yeah, Dad?"

Rafael smiled warmly and squeezed his wife's shoulders. "Bring Star home."

The lump in his throat grew and he nodded. "I will."

His feet carried him the rest of the way to his room, where he whirled around, throwing clothing and snack foods into a backpack. He changed, into a warmer sweater and then paused in front of his closet before pulling it open and digging out a knife he had used on his quest for Heckapoo. He strapped it to his hip, tucked away under his shirt and hoodie, and then picked up the scissors.

"Hope Pony Head is up for an adventure," he muttered, slicing open a portal.

With one glance back at his bedroom, Marco shouldered his backpack and stepped away from Earth.


	66. Feel Like a Monster

**Feel Like a Monster: prompt submitted by TheOneAndOnly1993. I didn't want it to get super long, so I just made it a reveal scenario (but there is Starco, as requested).**

 **Guest Sorta: Lol I probably won't, just because apparently Marco going after Star is exactly what is going to happen in the next season, so I'd rather just see how that turns out (though if I don't like the canon way it's done, I'll rewrite it lol)**

* * *

Marco knew there was something that Star wasn't telling him. They had been roommates for almost a year, how could he not notice? Any time her dad was in the room with them, any time she was wearing a bathing suit or jeans or anything that wasn't a skirt. She'd get nervous, skittish, hide from him in some cases.

He didn't like it.

He didn't like not knowing what was going on with her, why she couldn't just talk to him. He figured at first that maybe it was more Mewberty symptoms coming in, but she wasn't shy about her wings. On the contrary, she showed those off around the house, with loose back tops and low back dresses.

So he couldn't figure out what was wrong.

Until they started fighting Toffee.

Her anger was expected, at first; here was a monster who had taken him hostage, one they hadn't even known _existed_ , so the way she blazed into the room, wand on fire, didn't surprise Marco. He was relieved, actually.

But the way Toffee smiled, the way Star flinched back like she had interacted with him before, how he knew the _only_ thing that could get her wand to deactivate? It bothered him. For days, it bothered him, but he kept quiet, knowing that Star was upset about everything.

She approached him first, much to his surprise, appearing in his doorway silently one night while he was struggling over a math problem. He focused his attention on her, prepared to ask what was going on, when she spoke.

"Toffee is… _was_ my father. My…my birth father, I mean."

There was dead silence for a moment, broken only by the clatter Marco's pencil made as it slipped from between his fingers and fell to the floor. Star bit her lip nervously, eyes brimming with unshed tears, and turned to go, arms wrapped firmly around herself.

Marco pushed back in his chair silently and stood, moving to the doorway in a split second and curling his fingers tenderly against Star's bicep. She froze, body tensing under his grasp. "What happened?" he asked seriously, voice calm.

She shivered and tugged away from him, making something sour curl in the back of his throat. "Before my mom married my…my _step_ dad, she was with Toffee. She ignored the rules of the kingdom, didn't think all monsters were bad."

Marco sensed a "but" coming.

"But he betrayed her. He just wanted to be close to the throne. The moment he found out Mom was pregnant…he tried to force her into marriage, so that he would become king. He would have…he would have killed her. So she had him removed. From the kingdom. And she banned monsters after that, and my stepdad…they met right after I was born, so they told the kingdom I was his."

She took a shaky breath, but Marco didn't stop her. The way everything was spilling out, he could tell she had wanted to tell him this for a very long time. Instead, he moved closer, a hand settling gently between her wings and rubbing her back while she finished.

"They were the only ones who knew, except for Toffee. I told…I told Pony Head, a long time ago, because you know…she's…she's my best Mewnian friend. She deserved to know. But I…I was _scared_ to tell you, because humans are different, and we fight monsters all the time, and I _am_ one, so I didn't-"

Her voice broke and Marco drew her in firmly, arms tight around her back and fingers trembling against her skin. "You're not a monster," he protested quietly. "Actions make a monster, not birth. We discovered that with Buff Frog, right?"

She shuddered and clung to him like her life depended on it and Marco only tightened his grip, pressing her close and giving her a second to breathe. "You're still Star," he mumbled against her shoulder. "That doesn't change anything about you to me. You still fight for the right things, you're still my best friend, and you're still you."

Star's breath hitched and she nodded against him, tears slipping from her cheeks and hitting his neck, warm. He shut his eyes and let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding, letting her pull back first and then cupping her cheek in one hand, a gentle smile playing on his cheeks. "This changes nothing, okay?"

She nodded again and swiped furiously at the tears on her cheeks. Marco gave her a second before asking the first question that had popped into his head. "Why now?"

Her smile was tentative, weak, but it was there. "Uh…because I'm a um…a mixed child? I get…b-both sets of puberty?"

Marco didn't really know what that meant, if he was honest. Humans only had one type of puberty for each sex, and unless someone was in the midst of transitioning from one to the other, teenagers usually only experienced one or the other. His face must have shown his confusion, because Star's nose wrinkled and she ducked her head, rubbing the back of her neck like she was trying to wring it from behind. "Um…I'm…this is so stupid…I'mgrowingatail."

His eyebrows shot upwards at the hurried words, ones he deciphered with ease, because when Ferguson got excited he too spoke quickly. "You're…?"

"Please don't make me repeat it," Star pleaded, her cheeks flaming red and her hands clasped together in front of her.

A wry smile slid across Marco's face. "Is that why you've been avoiding tight clothing lately?"

She squeaked and buried her head in her hands and Marco laughed easily, lifting his fingers to curl around her wrists and pull them down. "Star. It's okay, I promise. I didn't freak out about Mewberty, and that was _terrifying_. Why would I freak out about this?"

Star looked bewildered. "Because I'm related to that….monster."

Marco shook his head and squeezed Star's hands. "By blood, maybe. But in your heart, you're totally, 100 percent a princess of Mewni. I believe that. You should too."

She studied him for a long moment, the bright red dying to a dim pink that settled high on her cheek bones and made her eyes glitter. "Thanks, Marco. But can you not…I don't want people…"

"I won't," he promised. "This is between us, okay? I'm glad you told me. That you trust me."

Star pulled him back against her, burying her nose into his shoulder and taking a deep breath, pounds lifting from her shoulders for the first time in months. "I do," she mumbled into his hoodie.

"Good. Now…about the tail…what does it look like?"

"MARCO! You can't just _ask_ that!"

* * *

 **Seriously, even just one word/one sentence prompts would be good (those are actually better, because I can play around with them more), so if you have any, send them! I'm still aiming for a hundred chapters.**

 **Reviews inspire authors to update. Please leave them.**


	67. King River

**King River- The end of "Song Day" left me with some fanfiction fodder ideas.**

 **JayFan67: Yay! I'm glad! Also, your prompt will be next. I just had to get this one out lol (yours is literally half written, I just happened to be watching Song Day and I was like 'well shit')**

 **Jlajoice1: I feel. I'm on Spring Break right now, and it's super nice to not have to do anything.**

 **ImALazyProcrastinator: Yessssss it's on the list. Thank you!**

* * *

He watched her hop out the window, onto Cloudy, and fly away. Heard the queen arguing with the council behind him. But Marco didn't really come out of his stupor until a hand was settled on his shoulder. He turned to find the king standing there, eyebrows furrowed into a caterpillar and gaze boring into Marco's very soul.

"Um…K-King River. Hi."

River tilted his head in acknowledgement, moving his hand to Marco's upper back and gently pushing him out of earshot of the fight. "Want to tell me what all that was about out there?"

"The song?" Marco asked, twisting his fingers together and trying hard to avoid River's eyes. "I…I didn't help them plan it, if that's what you mean."

"You know that's not what I mean. Star has a mind of her own, the song was of little surprise to me. Until that last verse, anyway."

Marco flinched. Of course that was what the king wanted to talk about. "Sir, I-"

River held up a hand and Marco shut his mouth instantly, clenching his hands at his sides to keep from fidgeting. "I can tell by your reaction that you did not know of anything going on. But tell me, Marco…regardless of how Star may or may not feel, I want to know how _you_ feel."

Marco swallowed, shrinking under River's gaze. He knew Star's father wouldn't hurt him, but there was something intimidating about being confronted about his daughter surrounded by magical beings that could kill him with a snap of their fingers. "Sir, I…I'm dating someone."

River raised an eyebrow. "Marco, people date many people. That doesn't necessarily mean they have feelings for all of those people."

Marco scowled, angry all of a sudden. "What, are you saying that just because Star might have a crush on me, I automatically have to have a crush on her? I don't know how things work on Mewni, sir, but that's not how they work on Earth. I like Jackie, a _lot_."

"And yet you're here. In formal attire. Which I know from experience is not comfortable. For my daughter."

Marco snapped his mouth shut, looking away to hide his irritation. "Sir…"

"I like you, Marco. You're a fine young man, with a good head on your shoulders," River declared, settling a hand on Marco's arm and squeezing it gently. "I'm not telling you how to feel. I'm just saying, I suppose…if you ever did feel a certain way…I would not be opposed."

Despite the fact that Marco was trying to protest any supposed feelings for Star, his heart stuttered at the praise and he had to fight down a blush. "Um…thank…you?"

River chuckled and glanced back at the council and his wife, noting their conversation had gone from yelling to frantic whispers. "You're welcome. Listen…I believe things are about to get…complicated. In many ways. I don't know the full extent of what is going on, but…please be prepared Marco."

His eyes were pleading when he turned them back, and Marco jumped. "Sir…?"

"Fix things with Star. Regardless of how either of you feel, or what happens, friendship is an important thing," the man murmured, rubbing at his beard absentmindedly. "I'd hate to see the two of you fall apart because of some stupid song."

Marco couldn't help but agree, and he pulled his scissors from his pocket slowly, stroking over the blade with one finger. River eyed them and his lips twitched. "Went through the trials, I see."

He glanced down at them and gave a half shrug. "Yeah. Took 16 years."

"Long time, for just a pair of scissors."

Marco looked to the king, understanding what he was implying, and sighed, defeated. "Sir, I just…I just don't know."

River nodded and patted Marco on the back comfortingly. "I understand, son. Go home. Get some rest. Be ready. Even if no one would admit needing help from an Earthling, we need everyone we can get. And you are an excellent fighter. I'd be proud to have you fighting alongside us."

Marco still had no idea what was going on, but he nodded in agreement and sliced open a portal. "Sir…do you really think she…I mean…"

He hesitated and River hummed thoughtfully. "I honestly don't know, Marco. Would it change things? In the long run, I mean?"

Marco pressed his lips into a thin line and gave a helpless shrug. "I don't know," he said honestly.

"That's okay," River promised. "You'll figure it out one day." He looked back to Moon with a small smile. "We all do."

With that, Marco bowed and exited through the portal with a lot more on his mind than he had when he'd gone through the last time.


	68. Sleep Deprivation

**Sleep Deprivation: Prompt submitted by JayFan67. Lol remember that time I said I would update weekly? *sweats nervously***

 **Guest 1: Thank you so much! Unfortunately, I have not seen Hamilton, so I'm going to have to decline that idea. But thank you for leaving it!**

 **AnotherShipInTheWall: Consider it on the list! Maybe I'll get to it before I turn 30.**

 **EAurelian: As much as I try, spelling errors always, always, always slip through. You just can't catch everything. And yup, I can give that a shot!**

 **THESINGHER: Thanks! That one was especially interesting to write!**

 **I usually don't respond to anon messages from chapters before the last chapter posted (does that make sense?), but I got one today that essentially told me to stop writing "SJW" one shots, I assume, in response to chapter 10. And to that I say: I'm a female bisexual with black family, black friends, Hispanic friends, Muslim friends, and LGBT+ friends. Real issues exist for these people, for me. I'll stop writing about injustices when they stop existing. Don't like it? Don't review it. Don't whine at me because I called out racism and you're uncomfortable.**

 **I don't own Star vs. the Forces of Evil blah blah obviously. I'm ready for it to come back now and end that damn cliffhanger they left us with.**

* * *

"Star? What are you doing?"

"Making a sandwich."

"You're putting potato chips and pickles onto peanut butter. And that's not bread. It's crackers."

Star snickered maniacally. "Looks really good, right? Well you can't have any!"

Marco raised a curious eyebrow. "Okay? I didn't really want-"

"Did you know," Star interrupted, staring down at the knife she had been using to spread the peanut butter, "that knives are really great for stabbing people?"

"Uh…."

She giggled and chucked the knife into the sink, dancing around Marco and leaning heavily on his shoulder. "Don't worry! I wouldn't stab you, Marco! Unless you double crossed me."

Her voice had dropped incredibly low and her eyes had gained a dangerous glint to them. Marco swallowed and stepped out of her reach. "Are you feeling okay, Star?"

"Fantastic!" she declared, spinning in a circle and throwing her arms above her head. "I've been awake for 72 hours and I'm about to cry, but you smell sooooooo good and I am sooooo hungry."

She took a deep breath and spun back to the "sandwich" she had created, picking up the crackers and squinting at them. "This bread is really small."

"Star, those are-"

She plopped it into her mouth and then swung up onto the kitchen counter, flopping onto her back and staring at the ceiling. "Did you ever notice," she mused around the cracker, "that we eat soup with a spoon and we also eat cereal with a spoon. _They're two totally different things, Marco._ "

He fought back a laugh. "Yes, I suppose that's true."

"And like….pineapples? Aren't _apples._ Why are they called that?"

"I really couldn't say."

Star swung upright, dangling her legs off of the counter and kicking them against the cupboards below the island. "You smell like cookies," she determined, a hungry look in her eyes. "Where are the cookies, Marco?"

Marco bit down his grin. "I don't have any."

"LIAR."

She tackled him to the floor, wrestling with the boy and trying to rip his jacket off of him in an attempt to get to the pockets. "I know! You have them!" she gasped, laughing the whole time.

Marco managed to push her off of him and onto the floor, holding her at arm's length. "Star," he tried. She kept giggling, and he was startled to realize that she was crying at the same time. " _Star_ ," he said again, a little more desperately. "What's wrong?"

"I can't…I can't find the book," she managed to get out, breathless from her cry-laughing fit. The smile slowly slid from her face and she slumped. "I can't find the book."

"Oh."

She seemed to crash at that exact moment, on the kitchen floor leaning up against the island. Her entire body drooped and she slid down the counter until she was laying on the actual floor itself. "I couldn't find the book with any of my finding spells, I couldn't find Glossaryk, I couldn't…I couldn't do _anything_."

Her hiccups turned to sobs and Marco helped her sit up, wrapping an arm around her and letting her rest her head on his shoulder. "Hey," he murmured. "It's okay. It'll be okay."

They fell silent for a moment, Star's sniffles fading off into complete silence, and then Marco spoke again. "You still want those cookies?"

She glanced over at him, the bags under her bright pink eyes darker than he had ever seen them. "Yeah. Then maybe…maybe some sleep."

He nodded and got up, leaving her resting on the floor, and bustled around the kitchen finding the cookies his father had made the day before. When he returned, she was sound asleep on the linoleum, curled up against the chill of the tile and snoring quietly. Marco smiled thinly and wrapped the cookies up in a napkin, leaving them there for her when she woke up.


	69. Unicorn Fever

**Unicorn Fever: Submitted by ImALazyProcrastinator. This was a fun one. Cause I could have done a million different things. But we haven't seen Pony Head in a while, so here we go.**

 **Guest Sorta: Nope, you got it right on the nose. Whenever I'm stressed and have a lack of sleep, I break down at the smallest things, especially if I'm cooping up my feelings.**

 **JayFan67: Oh good, I'm glad you liked it. I'm always worried.**

 **I don't own Star vs. the Forces of Evil.**

* * *

Opening the door to Pony Head wasn't an abnormal occurrence in the Diaz household. Ever since she and Marco had stopped bickering as much, she was there often, hanging out and watching movies and generally causing mischief.

Opening the door to Pony Head with bright red eyes, a running nose, and a grey colored horn, however, was different.

Marco thought at first that she might have been crying, but that didn't explain the horn color. He turned aside and called for Star, who was upstairs working on geometry homework (hopefully). "You feeling okay, Pony?"

"No," she grunted through her teeth, sneezing instantly afterwards as if to prove how sick she was. Marco grimaced and led her to the living room, where she promptly flopped down into an arm chair.

"Are you uh…are you sick, then?"

"What does it l- _chew_ -look like, you turd?"

Marco rolled his eyes and began bustling around, gathering blankets from the footstool and tossing them in Pony Head's general direction. "I was just asking," he grumbled. "Can I-?"

"Pony Head! What are you-? Oh _no!_ "

Star literally leapt down the stairs, vaulting the railing, and landed next to Marco so violently that she knocked him to the floor. She leaned over Pony Head anxiously, chewing on the top of her wand. "Do you have…Unicorn Fever?"

Pony Head nodded miserably and nuzzled under the blankets that Marco had provided. Marco, on the floor rubbing his back, glanced up. "What's Unicorn Fever?" he asked.

Star helped him to his feet and turned to Pony Head, tucking the blankets up under her nose. "It's like a human's flu, I think. Fever, coughing, sneezing, lack of color in the horn, and sometimes vomiting."

Though Marco wasn't sure that Pony Head had the physical ability to vomit, considering her lack of everything below the neck, he wasn't willing to take any chances. "We won't get sick, will we?"

"Nope!" Star said cheerfully. "But it's _suuuper_ contagious to all other floating pony heads. She had this a lot when we were kids, and she would stay in Mewni so her father and the servants wouldn't get sick."

"Tell the turd to get me something hot," Pony Head croaked from under the massive pile of cotton she had been buried under.

Marco rolled his eyes but obliged, leaving the living room and moving to the kitchen to heat up some of his father's left over chicken soup. He wasn't sure that Pony Head ate chicken, but he had seen her eat hot dogs and pepperoni, so he wasn't all that concerned. He could hear Star talking quietly to her friend as he dumped the heated substance into a bowl and grabbed both a spoon and a straw, not sure how exactly eating was going to happen.

"Ohhhh thank you thank you thank you," Pony Head whined when he reappeared, carting along the food. "You are so nice, Marco."

He set the bowl down on the coffee table and let her have at it with the straw, shooting Star a confused look. "I'm nice?"

She grinned. "Unicorn fever also causes delusions and wild changes in emotion."

"Fantastic."

For the next three hours, Pony Head had them running around getting her carbonated drinks, crackers, blankets, water, pain killers (Marco put his foot down on that one, not sure how human medication would affect a magical flying horse head), and various forms of entertainment, including Disney movies and coloring books. Marco was never touching his stash of sick-day crayons again.

Eventually, she fell asleep, bundled up in a nest of blankets and pillows, and Marco and Star collapsed on the couch together, exhausted. "Why are we doing this again?" Marco asked. "I'm sure she's able to get some kind of medical attention at home, right?"

"She's my best friend, Marco," Star protested. "I'm not going to let her be sick alone. She's done the same thing for me."

He nodded. "Okay."

Star dozed off after a while of pure silence between the teens, and Marco found himself occupying his time with a magazine that had been tossed onto the coffee table, occasionally stifling back yawns and trying not to let himself get captured by the same sleep that had taken Star. He thumbed the pages with faked intrigue, occasionally skimming the articles within and studying the pictures.

"Marco?"

He glanced up, finding Pony Head peeking up at him blearily and coughing. "Yeah, Pony?"

Her teeth were chattering, which shook her entire head. "I'm c-cold. C-Can I h-have-?"

"Yeah, sure."

He pushed himself off the sofa, jaw nearly splitting in a yawn, and shuffled over to the footstool, lifting the top off and pulling out a few more throw blankets. "Will these work?"

She bobbed her head and Marco leaned over, gently tucking the blankets around her further. "There you go," he mumbled, keeping one of the lighter ones for himself and Star. "Need anything else?"

Pony Head hummed and shook, tossing one of the blankets up and over her horn, eyes starting to flutter shut. "No," she whispered, so soft that Marco wasn't sure that he had actually heard it. "Thank you, Marco."

He smiled thinly and ducked his head. "Of course. Any time. Let me know if you need anything, okay?"

She snored in response, and Marco chuckled and ventured back to the couch, flopping down next to Star and tossing the blanket over the both of them. She grasped at it in her sleep and snuggled up to Marco's side, sighing softly.

He settled down and tried to force himself awake for a little longer, keeping an eye on their sick friend, but eventually sleep claimed him as well.

Not even a week later, they discovered that Unicorn Fever, while not contagious to humans, was very contagious to magical, laser-eye-shooting puppies. And that sneeze-induced laser eye shooting was even more painful than the normal kind.


	70. Demon Support

**Demon Support: prompt submitted by AnotherShipInTheWall. Cause sometimes you just need a demon ex-boyfriend to be supportive of you. Short and sweet, which are sometimes better and more satisfying than long things.**

 **ImALazyProcrastinator: You know…I really didn't think that in depth about it lol. We'll just say Mewmans are close enough to humans and magic puppies are…something else. And I'm always accepting prompts, I'll put it on the list!**

 **Don't own Star vs blurp a durp. Still aiming for a hundred here, so we'll see how this goes.**

* * *

"You like him, don't you?"

Star looked up at Tom so quickly that her neck cracked, her fingers stilling around the pen that she had been using to write in her spell book. She had called Tom and asked him to come over because, having dated for a while, he knew a lot of the spells she used, and she needed his help remembering the wording. "What?"

Tom studied his nails and picked at a cuticle while he answered. "Marco. You like him."

Star's face slowly turned pink and she looked back down at the makeshift book. "I don't know what you're talking about, we're just friends."

Tom scoffed, hair bouncing as he shook his head. "That's a load of horse dung. He came in here to offer sandwiches and you almost started drooling."

"I was hungry!" Star protested.

"He didn't even have the sandwiches with him."

Star fumbled around her words for a moment, eyebrows furrowing and nose wrinkling into a pout. "Whatever, Mr. Non-believer. Think what you want. I don't like him."

Tom hesitated, lowering his hands to his lap and leaning forwards on Star's bed, stretching a hand out and then seeming to think better of it. "Star."

His voice was softer, almost gentle, and she found herself looking back to him.

"It's okay if you do," he continued. "I mean…he is a good guy. There are worse people you could like. And I'm not like…gonna tell him. If you do, I mean."

Star swallowed and stuck the end of her pen in her mouth, tugging at it with her hand and shutting her eyes. "I don't know," she admitted finally, her voice garbled around the pen. "Maybe?"

Tom gave a wry smile and leaned back against the pole of her bed, crossing his arms over his chest. "Thought so."

She chucked the pen at him in annoyance, swatting at his leg. "Oh, shut up!"

His smile faded and he picked the pen up from where it had landed in his lap, handing it back to her. "Star, you know I'm totally teasing. If you need someone to talk to who's like, a dude, I could…I mean…"

She raised an eyebrow and gave him a weak grin. "You saying I could talk to my ex-boyfriend about a guy?"

Tom flushed and looked away, huffing as he crossed his arms again. "Not if you don't want to," he grumbled. "I was just offering."

"Tom."

He glanced back at her and softened. "What?"

"Thank you. I'll…keep that in mind for the future. I mean it."

He had the feeling that she was being serious, if the way her eyes studied him so thoughtfully was any indication, and he brightened, leaning over and pointing to her book. "Good. Now, here? Change that "en" to an "ion." Otherwise you'll summon a hurricane instead of a bright light. You know, like the one that totally destroyed my room."

"Will you ever let me live that down?"

"Not a chance, Princess."


End file.
